RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/M/6
2July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2516)
Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Sixth Session
NOTE ONTHE MEETINGS OF24MAY AND 7JUNE 1996
Chairman: Mr.Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi (Morocco)
A. Adoption ofAgenda
1. Welcoming delegates toSixth Session oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment, the
Chairman, Ambassador Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi, saiditwasaprivilege tohavetheDirector-General
oftheWTO, Mr.Renato Ruggiero atthissession. TheChairman wasaware ofthepriority the
Director-General placed onincreasing theparticipation ofdeveloping countries inthemultilateral trading
system, andonthetechnical cooperation activities oftheWTO. Hisviews would beofgreat value
inthediscussions ontheprovision ofguidelines fortechnical cooperation.
2. Turning totheproposed agenda forthemeeting inWTO/AIR/326, theChairman suggested
that,asthequestion ofobserver status remained unsolved intheGeneral Council, theCommittee decide
thatthesame organizations invited fortheSixth Session beinvited forthenextsession. Itwasso
decided. Heintended todealwithpreparations fortheforthcoming Ministerial Meeting inSingapore
aswellastheChairmanship oftheSub-Committee ofLeast-Developed Countries under item2C(Other
Business). TheCommittee noted thatthedelegate oftheUnited States would haveabriefcomment
ontheNotification ofPreferential Trade Agreements, under agenda itemOther Business. TheAgenda
wasthenadopted.
B. Provision ofGuidelines forWTO Technical Cooperation
3. TheChairman saidthatinhisview, thecurrent meeting wasjustthebeginning oftheprocess
ofestablishing guidelines fortechnical cooperation. Heproposed thatthediscussion bestructured
sothattheissue ofguidelines could beaddressed taking intoaccount bothexperience withtechnical
cooperation within theGATT/WTO aswellasoutside theorganization. TheCommittee should first
hearfrom theDirector-General andhaveanoverview ofthemain elements tobetaken intoaccount
inproviding guidelines. Hewould givetheopportunity fordelegations toexpress anygeneral remarks
ontechnical cooperation afterthestatement bytheDirector-General. Finally theCommittee would
lookattheguidelines fortechnical cooperation. Atthisstage, theChairman would make some
suggestions onhowdelegations could structure theirinterventions.
4. TheDirector-General inhisopening remarks emphasized theimportance heplaced onthework
ofthisCommittee; hewould bepresent again attheJunesession oftheCommittee, along withthe
Secretary-General ofUNCTAD. Heearnestly believed thatthegreatest success oftheUruguay Round
wastheincreased levelofparticipation ofdeveloping countries. Itwasofmajor historical importance.
Every effort mustbemade tostrengthen thisnewconfiguration oftheworld economy. HesaidthatWT/COMTD/M/6
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globalization hadpresented oneofthegreatest opportunities fordeveloping countries toincrease their
participation inthemultilateral trading system. Fastgrowing developing countries hadhelped pull
theindustrialized countries inNorth America andWestern Europe outoftherecession ofthe90s.
Interdependence resulting from globalization hadsetinmotion theprocess ofintegrating countries
onthemargins ofthetrading system. Theincreased importance intheworld economy ofdeveloping
countries asplayers, notdependants, increased theimportance ofthework ofthisCommittee.
5. Inachieving themandate forgreater coherence inthemanagement ofamicroeconomic policy,
oneofthemostimportant goalswould betointegrate development policy andtradepolicy. Heexpressed
great satisfaction withrespect totherecent negotiations oftheWTO withtheIMFandWorld Bank;
there wasnowanewvision -notinterms ofcross-conditionality butinterms ofcross-fertilization.
Thiswasacompletely different andnewperception. Consequently, development policy would be
apartoftheadjustment programmes ofdeveloping countries. Arule-based global multilateral system
withthecapacity ofenforcement was,hesaid,ofgreatest importance fordeveloping countries and
presented theonlyrealmeans toachieve economic development. Hesawregionalism asthefirststep
ontheroadtomore active participation intheglobal trading system fordeveloping countries and
particularly fortheleast-developed ofthem. Healsosawanewcoordinated vision forWTO cooperation
withUNCTAD andITC. While theDirector-General wasaware ofthedissatisfaction expressed by
some developing countries ontheoutcome oftheUruguay Round, hethought itwastooearly forthe
newinitiatives infavour ofdeveloping countries tohavehadanimpact. However, given theimportance
oftrade policy fordevelopment policy, itwasnecessary toseewhatcould bedonewithin therules
already established tomeettheexpectations ofdeveloping countries.
6. TheMinisterial Conference duetotakeplace inSingapore wasthefirstmeeting atapolitical
levelsince theWTO wasestablished. Thismeeting would notonlytakestock ofwhathadbeendone,
butitwould establish aWork Programme. Helooked forward tostrong participation bydeveloping
countries inthepreparation forSingapore, andinvited written proposals frommembers onhowthey
sawtheoutcome oftheSingapore meeting. Itwasimportant thatthese views betaken intoaccount
inthepreparations forSingapore.
7. Turning toleast-developed countries, hedrewattention tothemarginalization ofleast-developed
countries thathadtaken place. Their economic structures didnotenable them totakeadvantage of
themultilateral trading system, andstrong efforts wereneeded ontheirbehalf. Animportant initiative,
hesaid,hadbeentaken bytheFrench President withthebacking ofother G7leaders toinclude matters
relating tothese countries intheforthcoming G7Summit inLyon. Theconcluding sessions ofthe
forthcoming G7meeting would belooking atwhatcould bedonetohelptheleast-developed countries
better integrate intotheworld trading system. Representatives oftheUnited Nations, World Bank,
IMFandWTO hadbeeninvited, andhehimself would attend. Thisinitiative recognized theimportance
totheworld economy ofcountries other thanalimited number ofindustrialized countries. Thiswas,
inhisview, animportant partofthepreparations fortheSingapore meeting. Looking ahead hewas
realistically ambitious thattherewould besome additional measures taken infavour ofleast-developed
countries. Heexpected realprogress intheirfavour; towards theobjectives ofbound duty-free access
forexports, towards larger quotas, andtowards amore flexible application ofrules oforigin.
8. Hecould notaccept theperception thatdeveloping countries hadlittleinterest inso-called new
issues. While therelevance oftherulesforvarious countries differed, every country hadaninterest
inacommon framework ofrules. Forinstance, asaidflows declined, initiatives intheareaof
investment wereofprime importance. Hesaidthat66percentofforeign investment flows occurred
among industrialized countries, andthatmostoftherestwentto10developing countries. Industrialized
countries, andthemore advanced developing countries, hadtotakeintoaccount theneeds ofother
countries,particularlyoftheleast-developedcountries.Heinsistedthattheirneedsmustnotbeforgotten.WT/COMTD/M/6
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Turning totheproblems ofnet-food importing countries, hesaidthatwork wasgoing oninthe
Agricultural Committee andthatthissubject would beconsidered intheGeneral Council when preparing
fortheMinisterial conference.
9. Hesaidthattechnical cooperation wasamajor issue. HesawtheWTO roleinthisareaas
partofalarger effort; partofacoordinated andintegrated programme bringing together allinstitutions
toimprove institutional capacity andhuman resources. Itmust, hesaid,bepartofaglobal design.
HesawaroleforWTO, UNCTAD, ITCandtheCommon Fund forCommodities inencouraging
diversification andenhancing export capacity. Hewascertain thatthrough wellstructured efforts and
institutional collaboration arealimpact could bemade; suchefforts must besustained andhave
follow-up. Hegavegreat importance tocooperation withtheWorld Bank notably fortheuseofnew
technologies.
10. TheChairman thanked theDirector-General forinsisting ontheneedforabroader vision when
looking attechnical cooperation. Hedrew theattention ofdelegates tothereport onTechnical
Cooperation -document WT/COMTD/W/14 -andobserved thatadiscussion ontechnical cooperation
should consider three elements. First, theprovisions fortechnical cooperation already contained in
theWTO agreements. Second, thespecific needs ofcountries andtheneedforcoherence between
technical cooperation programmes provided bydifferent organizations tomeet suchneeds. Third,
whatadditional assistance wasrequired toimplement thecommitments thatflowed fromtheuniversal
membership ofWTO agreements. Thiswasnecessary inorder fordeveloping countries tobenefit
from thenewmarket openings thatfollowed from theUruguay Round, andtobefurther integrated
intothemultilateral trading system. Cooperation, particularly withtheWorld Bank andIMFwould
beinaccordance withthemandate forCoherence inGlobal Economic Policymaking given byMinisters.
Such cooperation would ensure thatrecipient countries gained maximum benefit from their
complementarity andcompetence. Coordination oftechnical assistance provided bydifferent
organizations should, inhisview, beanimportant element oftheguidelines fortechnical cooperation
andtheCommittee should haveacomplete picture ofactivities inrespect oftechnical cooperation carried
outbyother organizations aswellastheWTO.
11. TheChairman recalled thataquestionnaire ontechnical cooperation hadbeensenttodeveloping
country members, tocountries witheconomies intransition andtoindustrialized countries. Ithad
beenelaborated afterhisconsultations withinterested parties. Hestated thattheintention wasneither
toextend thescope ofWTO technical cooperation nortodrawupa"shopping list"ofneeds, butrather
toestablish abetter appreciation ofoverall needs andtoestablish priorities. Responses wereanticipated
notonlyfromthosemembersreceivingtraditionalassistance,butalsothoseprovidingtechnicalassistance
assome ofthequestions were relevant forbothgroups ofcountries. TheChairman theninformed
theCommittee thathehadinvited theSecretary-General ofUNCTAD andtheExecutive-Secretary
ofITCtoaddress theCommittee atitsnextsession. TheChairman oftheGeneral Council andthe
Director-General oftheWTO would alsobepresent.
12. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities noted withappreciation theDirector-General 's
commitment totheintegration ofdeveloping countries, particularly oftheleast-developed, intothe
multilateral trading system. Heagreed withtheDirector-General ontheimportance ofthehighlevel
participation bydeveloping countries andthatthehigher levelofcommitments accepted bydeveloping
countries would enable themtobenefit fromglobalization. Technical assistance, particularly toleast
developed countries, could playacentral roleinhelping themrespect theircommitments. TheEuropean
Communities hadalready made extra-budgetary contributions forholding seminars inAfrica.
Recognizing theimportance ofcoordinating theefforts ofdifferent organizations soresults would be
maximized wastobewelcomed, aswasthegoodworking relationship established withtheWorld Bank
andUNCTAD andtheITC. Thework ofITCwasdirected tospecific targeted projects; theEuropeanWT/COMTD/M/6
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Communities hadstarted discussions withITCanditwascertain effective cooperation would result.
ECconcerns, however, wentbeyond technical assistance. Thedegree towhich developing countries
benefited from theresults oftheUruguay Round would varyanditwasessential thatcountries,
particularly industrialized countries, fullyrespect thecommitments theyhadundertaken. Hewished
tohaveabetter understanding oftheDirector-General 'sinteresting suggestions intheareaoftariffs
andthought itshould belooked atingreater depth. Liberalization innewareas, hesaid,should take
intoaccount theinterests oftheleast-developed countries. Hehadnodoubt thatnegotiations which
would facilitate andenhance international investment flows would benefit bothcountries making the
investment,andcountriesreceivinginvestment,throughthetransferoftechnologyandthroughincreased
economic activity. Hecalled upon fastgrowing developing countries toplayaroleinassisting
least-developed countries. Inconclusion, hereiterated theEuropean Communities 'commitment to
participating actively inthedrawing upofguidelines fortechnical assistance.
13. Therepresentative ofTunisia saidhefullyshared theDirector-General 'svision ontechnical
cooperation. Technical assistance waslinked tocurrent needs arising from theUruguay Round
agreements. Technical cooperation, however, wasdirected athelping developing countries increase
theirparticipation ininternational trade andshould betheessential partofwhattheCommittee was
trying toachieve intherunuptoSingapore. Recalling thatitwastheinitiative taken byAfrican Trade
Ministers inTunis thathadpaved thewayforcooperation between WTO, UNCTAD andITC,henow
welcomed thiscooperation, already evident inprogrammes being carried outinAfrican countries.
Inaddition heattached greatimportance totheharmonization ofmacroeconomic policies. Coordination
between theWorld Bank, theIMF andtheWTO wasvital toobtain proper harmonization of
macroeconomic policies andtobring about theright environment fordevelopment. Hehoped that
atforthcoming sessions oftheCTD itwould bepossible notonlytofocus onwhattheWTO could
dointhefieldoftechnical assistance, butwhat itcould doincooperation withother organizations
toimprove thelevelofparticipation ofdeveloping countries intheworld trade andtheircapacity to
benefit from themultilateral trading system.
14. Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf ofASEAN, saidthatthepresence ofthe
Director-General wasameasure ofthehighprofile theCommittee ofTrade andDevelopment was
taking andtheroleitwasbeginning toplay. Itwasimperative thatarules-based organization such
astheWTO wasseentohaveaconscience -asense ofequity. TheCTDwastheconscience thatcreated
asense ofequity fortheWTO. Heagreed withtheDirector-General thatglobalization andliberalization
were anintegral partoftheglobal economy. However, ithadtoberecognized thatsome countries
needed timeandresources tointegrate themselves intothisglobal economy; inorder tobecompetitive,
theyneeded knowledge, skills andaccess totechnology. Herecalled thatthere wereprovisions that
provided forgradual liberalization, technical assistance andcooperation. Equity needed progress in
areasofimportance todeveloping countries suchastextiles, agriculture, andmaritime transport services.
Even though theUruguay Round wasseenasasingle undertaking, there were signs thatcountries
were picking andchoosing areas ofinterest tothemselves; thissentunfortunate signals totrading
partners. Inconclusion, hesaidthatwhile technical assistance could playaveryimportant role(as
wasevident from theASEAN experience), itmust notresult ina"crutch" mentality; self-help was
vital. Sowascooperation between developing countries, inparticular themore advanced developing
countries helping theirlessadvanced trading partners. Theonepagepaper ondefinition andallocation
oftechnical cooperation activities presented attherecent UNCTAD conference encapsulated therange
ofpossibilities ofcooperation between theWTO, UNCTAD andITC. Heasked thatitbecirculated
asanofficial document. Theforthcoming Ministerial meeting wastaking place inanASEAN country.
ASEANwasanexampleofhowfree-tradepromotedeconomicdevelopment,socialgrowthandstability.
Helooked forward toagood discussion ontrade anddevelopment inSingapore.WT/COMTD/M/6
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15. Therepresentative ofCuba, speaking onbehalf oftheLatin American andCaribbean countries,
underlined theimportance theyattached totheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment. Hewelcomed
theobjective identified earlier bytheDirector-General toprovide impetus totheparticipation of
developing countries intheworld trading system. Heexpressed concern thatthetrends in1996(Table I
inWT/COMTD/W/14) showed thatmissions toLatin American Countries andtheCaribbean countries
wereonlyabout halfofthose in1995. Thecountries ofLatin America andtheCaribbean would like
toknow what theplans ofthesecretariat fortheregion were. Heemphasized theneedtoenhance
efforts forcountries intheregion astheyneeded technical assistance toidentify interests andassess
thepossible implications oftheSingapore Ministerial Meeting. Hewelcomed thefactthatthe
questionnaire wasverydetailed andcomplete.
16. Therepresentative ofEgypt expressed appreciation fortheefforts oftheChairman andthe
dynamism hehadbrought totheCommittee. Shealsowelcomed theclear vision brought bythe
Director-General. Hiscommitment toassisting thedeveloping countries, including theleast-developed
andthenetfood-importing countries, wascertain toshow results attheSingapore meeting. Sheagreed,
thatwithout aclear vision oftherealdimensions oftheproblem, nocomprehensive progress was
possible. Shelooked forward tocooperation withUNCTAD andITCandtocoherent, comprehensive
andsustained programmes ontechnical cooperation. Sheagreed withtherepresentative ofTunisia
ontheneedtodistinguish between greater coherence asmandated bytheMarrakesh declaration and
technical cooperation. Sheawaited theoutcome ofconsultations withthemultilateral financial
institutions; inthatregard shewould appreciate clarification ontheimplications oftheterm
"cross-fertilization". TheChairman commented thathehadalways inmind thedifference between
Bretton Woods institutions andothers, suchasUNCTAD andITC.
17. Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthattheactive andimaginative roleoftheChairman was
timely andbeneficial. Itwasalsoevident thattheDirector-General hadgiven considerable thought
tothework oftheCommittee andtothequestion ofhowitcould beofgreatest benefit todeveloping
country members ofWTO. Thegreater degree ofliberalization thatcharacterized thepost-Uruguay
Round world economy meant thatdeveloping countries could make lessuseoftheprinciple ofnon-
reciprocity. This wasmore challenging; iteven seemed threatening. Italsopresented great
opportunities. Oneofthegreatest contributions ofthetechnical assistance programme would beto
increase thefamiliarity ofdeveloping countries withthenewrealities ofthetrading system andoftheir
rights andobligations. Thiswasparticularly thecaseforthose areas ofthenegotiations where they
participated lessactively suchasTRIPS, TRIMS andServices. Opportunities intheServices sector
couldbesubjectsofnewseminarsandinformationdisseminationactivities.Healsothoughtprogrammes
should involve theprivate sector, inparticular small businesses which would benefit frominternational
exposure. Heagreed withtheDirector-General andtheChairman thatagriculture andtextiles were
among themost important sectors fordeveloping countries. There wasaneedhesaidtosafeguard
theinterests ofnet-food importing countries, oftextile importing countries andofcotton-producing
countries. Welcoming thegreater integration withother international organizations, hethought more
usecould alsobemade ofseminars anddiscussions heldinreputed universities. Itwould beuseful,
hesaid, tocompile anddisseminate acompendium ofsuch events, andtoextend financing for
participation. New information technology should beincreasingly used foratwo-way flow of
information. Pakistan hadfound thequestionnaire veryuseful andhadalready senttheresponse of
theGovernment.
18. Therepresentative ofNorway agreed withtheDirector-General thatoneofthemostimportant
elements oftheUruguay Round wasthehighlevelofparticipation bydeveloping countries, andthat
thishadpolitical implications. Hehoped thattheSingapore meeting would attract ahighlevel of
participation, bothquantitatively andqualitatively, andbetrulyrepresentative ofaglobal organization
workingintheglobalizedeconomy.TheSecretariatdocumentreviewingTechnicalCooperationindicatedWT/COMTD/M/6
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thatthefocus hasbeenoncoreissues, onmostneedy countries, andonactivities inwhich theWTO
hadthegreatest degree ofexpertise. Heagreed withthisapproach which should becontinued with
sufficient flexibility toadapt tochanging needs andpriorities. Special attention should bedirected
athuman capacity building, particularly inleast-developed countries. Hecalled forthestringent
management ofactivities sothatthecredibility ofthesystem wasstrengthened. Thiswould helpattract
additional voluntary funding. HesaidtheCTD wastheforum where users anddonors oftechnical
assistance could discuss theproper useoffunds, andhowfunds could beproperly disbursed. Monitoring
andfeedback required wideparticipation ofMembers. Heasked thatallpossibilities beexplored for
increasing participation ofdeveloping countries, especially theleast-developed among them. Hewas
verypleased withthedraftquestionnaire; hehadtwosuggestions which hewould latertakeupwith
theSecretariat.
19. Therepresentative ofParaguay saidthatalthough heagreed ontheneed tocoordinate
programmes ofdifferent organizations, hefelttheWTO should playthedominant roleandcalled for
additional financial resources. Healsoagreed thattechnical cooperation wasdistinct from technical
assistance andcalled forgreater involvement oftherecipients intheprogramming anddelivery of
technical assistance andcooperation. There could benoonepattern fortechnical cooperation;
programmes needed tobetailor-made forcountries. Hecalled ondeveloped countries tofulfil their
commitments under theUruguay Round agreements, including those relating totechnical assistance.
Hestressed thattheinterests ofleast-developed countries should notbeignored, asthere wastherisk
oftheirfurther marginalization fromthemainstream ofeconomic activity. Henoted thattheirneeds
aswellastheirnumbers were increasing.
20. Therepresentative ofPeru welcomed theinterest shown bytheDirector-General andthe
Chairman andsaidthattechnical cooperation hadaroletoplayintheimplementation oftherulesand
disciplines oftheWTO. Heunderlined thatthefuller participation ofdeveloping countries inthe
multilateral system benefited allcountries. There was,hesaid,agreater needforinteraction between
theSecretariat andtheCTD, notonlytokeepparticipants informed, butalsoasamechanism for
monitoring andevaluating theeffectiveness oftechnical cooperation. Certain priorities wereshared
byalldeveloping countries andsetting them wasanissue ofcommon interest. AstheWTO lacked
sufficient resources, hesuggested there beacost-benefit analysis ofprogrammes. Hethought
fund-raising should bestrengthened andsuggested coordination andacostsharing among organizations
doingsimilarwork.Hesawaneedtoinvolvetheprivatesectorandinparticularsmallandmedium-sized
enterprises which faced thegreatest problems withobtaining market access. Commenting onthehigh
technical content ofthequestionnaire, hethought itwould beuseful indeveloping abasic framework
fortechnical assistance.
21. Therepresentative ofBangladesh, welcoming theactive involvement oftheChairman andof
theDirector-General, saidhehoped technical assistance would keeppacewiththeincreasing needs
ofrecipient countries. Underlining theDirector-General 'sremarks concerning theneedtoincrease
theflowofforeigndirectinvestment,hesaidthat48least-developedcountriesattractedonlyonepercent
oftheflows todeveloping countries. Themost urgent needofthese countries wastoimprove the
supply response, andtheWTO could sendappropriate signals tomultilateral financial institutions and
donor countries. Hewelcomed theDirector-General 'scallforzerotariff forleast-developed country
exports andagreed thatwhat wasnecessary wascross-fertilization, notcross-retaliation. While
least-developed countries themselves hadtheprimary responsibility todowhatwasnecessary tobenefit
more from globalization andliberalization, anenabling external environment wasessential. Rules,
hesaid,werenotimportant inthemselves: theyshould enhance thewelfare ofpeople andcontribute
totheirdevelopment.WT/COMTD/M/6
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22. Therepresentative ofHong Kong shared thevision oftheDirector-General ofinterdependent
economies inaworld ofbalanced development. Itneeded commitment fromallcountries andshould
bereflected inalldeliberations intheWTO. Hewasgladtoseeasystematic andcoordinated approach
totechnical cooperation. Hong Kong hadtaken duenoteoftheDirector-General 'smessage tomore
advanced developing countries. Heemphasized thatperhaps even more important thantechnical
assistance wasthebalanced implementation ofUruguay Round commitments; andestablishing atruly
balanced agenda fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference. While hedidnotdisagree thatinthe
long-termthepost-UruguayRoundmultilateraltradingsystemwasgoingtobenefitdevelopingcountries,
hesawacertain amount offoot-dragging inareas ofspecial interest todeveloping countries. Some
participants were pushing anarrow agenda ofinterest tothem, andthishadgiven risetothe
dissatisfaction among developing countries. Atrulybalanced agenda fortheSingapore conference,
andaction inareas ofparticular interest todeveloping countries, suchastextiles, wasessential, or
elsetechnical cooperation would seem more likeaconsolation prize. ItwasthetaskofthisCommittee
todefine thechallenges andopportunities facing developing countries andtotarget technical assistance
accordingly.
23. Therepresentative oftheCameroon congratulated theChairman forhisefforts tomake the
voice ofthedeveloping countries heard, asborne outbythepresence oftheDirector-General. Echoing
theinterventions already made ontechnical cooperation andassistance, henoted withsatisfaction the
interest inincreasing theparticipation ofdeveloping countries intheglobal world economy. Healso
noted withsatisfaction theevidence ofincreased cooperation among institutions andlooked forward
tothisbeing continued; hestressed thatcomplementarity andcross-fertilization should beencouraged.
Thesupport oftheentire international community forimmediate efforts onbehalf ofleast-developed
countries wasevident attherecent UNCTAD Conference. Heemphasized theimportance oftraining
andcapacity building andsaidthattheyshould begiven priority onalong-term basis. Thiswould
havelasting andtangible results. Hesawgreatbenefit fromtheintegration ofprogrammes ofvarious
agencies.HecalledondevelopedcountriestorespectthecommitmentstheyhadmadeundertheUruguay
Round Agreements, especially thoseinfavour ofdeveloping countries. Hecalled ondeveloped countries
tokeepthecommitmentsmadeinfavourofdevelopingcountries,inadditiontotheirothercommitments.
Looking forward totheSingapore meeting, hecalled forabalanced agenda thattookintoaccount the
interests ofdeveloping countries.
24. Therepresentative ofIndiawelcomed thepresence oftheDirector-General andtheopportunity
provided todiscuss technical cooperation inafocused andcoherent manner. Thequestionnaire would
helpthesystematic organization ofwork inthisarea. Heshared theviewthattechnical cooperation
could notbediscussed inisolation, butthatitshould beplaced inthecontext oftheresults ofthe
Uruguay Round. Hehoped thattheoptimism expressed bytheDirector-General asregards theresults
oftheUruguay Round would beborne out.Itwasnotjusttheperception ofdeveloping countries that
theyhadbenefitted littlefrom theUruguay Round; specific studies byreputed organizations drew
thesameconclusion.Whiletechnicalcooperationcouldhelpingarneringthebenefitsthatwereavailable,
itwasalsonecessarytoimprovemarketconditionsforproductsofexportinteresttodevelopingcountries.
Hehimself hadbeenclosely involved inthepreparation fornegotiations oncoherence inglobal economic
policymaking andfeltstrongly thatthisissue must bedistinguished from theissue oftechnical
cooperation. Furthermore, discussions oninvestment should nottakeaway thefocus fromtechnical
cooperation. Hewasnotconvinced thatamultilateral investment regime would encourage flows to
countries thatdidnotreceive them. Certain least-developed countries withveryopenregimes had
failed toattract foreign investment. Heagreed strongly withtherepresentative ofSingapore onthe
great importance ofequity, aconcept thatneeded topermeate thewhole Organization andtowhich
allcountries should becommitted.WT/COMTD/M/6
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25. Therepresentative ofChile noted theconcern oftheDirector-General asregards theissue of
technical cooperation andagreed thatinaworld ofincreasing globalization, there wasaneedfor
sustained technical cooperation. Economic development required notonlytradebutalsostable economic
institutions andcoherent macroeconomic policies sothattheproper environment existed inwhich trade
could flourish. Welcoming increased cooperation among WTO, UNCTAD, theITCandtheWorld
Bank, hesaidthatsustained andcoordinated technical assistance could improve management and
institutional capacities, increase theroleoftheprivate sector andhelpeconomic development. Technical
assistance needed tobetailor-made tomeetthespecific needs ofcountries. Hereiterated thattechnical
assistance should bedemand-driven inthesense thatitshould bedelivered inresponse torequests from
countries; thequestionnaire would helpintheproper targeting oftechnical assistance. Helooked
forward totheparticipation oftheSecretary-General ofUNCTAD atthenextsession andtoincreased
cooperation withUNCTAD andITC.
26. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatthedraftquestionnaire wasillustrative oftheChairman 's
effort tomake thework oftheCommittee more focused. Hisdelegation shared theDirector-General 's
viewthatincreased participation ofdeveloping countries intheglobal economy would eventually benefit
developed countries. TheDirector-General hadalready pointed outthatdeveloped countries would
alsobenefit from agreater integration ofdeveloping countries intotheworld economy. This
inter-dependence must beborne inmind. Trade policy wasanintegral partofdevelopment policy.
Theinclusion ofissues suchasinvestment ontheSingapore agenda wasimportant, notonlybecause
oftheneedforbalance, butalsobecause itwasofinterest toallcountries, particularly those developing
countries which onlyattract anegligible flowofinvestment. Hebelieved thatdelegations were
sympathetic totheideaofproviding duty-free access tocertain products ofexport interest tothe
least-developed countries. Hewelcomed stronger linksnotonlywithUNCTAD andITCbutalsowith
theIMFandtheWorld Bank. Hesuggested thattheCommittee develop specific application forms
tobeusedwhen developing countries sought technical assistance, whether onabilateral ormultilateral
basis; and,asasecond step,setuparegistry tokeeptrack ofrequests andofwhathadbeendone
bywayofresponse. Thissuggestion would helpindealing withrequests more systematically.
27. TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStateswaspleasedthattheDirector-Generalhadplacedtechnical
assistance inthebroader context ofdevelopment policy andobjectives. Noting theuniversal nature
ofparticipation intheUruguay Round, heagreed withtheDirector-General thatthere werecountries
who, because oftheirstructural problems, hadnotbenefited from theinternational trading system.
Having heard thefrustrations expressed bycertain countries thattechnical cooperation wasinadequate
toenablethemtofulfilUruguayRoundobligationsandtoachievecommercialobjectives,hecommended
thequestionnaire asastepintherightdirection. Itwould enable more customized andcoordinated
delivery oftechnical assistance andcould beregarded asoneaspect ofcoherence. Heagreed thatthe
WTO should encourage organizations withappropriate responsibilities tostepinwhere itdidnothave
theresources. Hesawagreater rolefortheWTO intechnical cooperation related specifically to
fulfilling obligations flowing from theUruguay Round agreements.
28. Therepresentative ofBrazil welcomed theinitiative taken bytheChairman toformulate the
questionnaire andthevision brought bytheDirector-General. TheWTO 'srolewasimportant, not
onlytocountries adopting adjustment programmes, butalsotocountries implementing regional trade
agreements. Heagreed withtheDirector-General ontheimportance ofregional trade agreements in
preparing thewayforwider liberalization. Hesawarolefortechnical assistance inreinforcing the
liberalization attheglobal levelandstrengthening institutional capacities ofdeveloping countries.WT/COMTD/M/6
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29. Therepresentative ofMadagascar saidthatthequestionnaire would assist intheidentification
oftechnical assistance needs ofcountries, andwould enable theWTO todesign andimplement its
programmes withthose needs inmind. Coordination among organizations would result inefficiency
andcoherence andmaximize theimpact ofavailable resources. Itwasessential tofocus ontheneeds
ofthemostmarginalized countries. Welcoming theNorwegian initiative toestablish aTrust fundfor
thesecountries, hehoped contributions would beforthcoming fromothercountries. Foreign investment
wasanimportant means ofreinforcing theexport sector andfacilitating theintegration ofdomestically
weaker countries intothemultilateral trading system. Assuggested byhisdelegation inthe
Sub-Committee onLeast-Developed Countries, amultilateral agreement should havespecial machinery
toensure thatflows todeveloping countries were encouraged.
30. TherepresentativeofArgentinasaidthatthequestionnairewouldhelpfocustechnicalcooperation
onthepriorities ofcountries receiving technical assistance. Hestressed theimportance ofimproving
human resources andinstitutional capacity. Thiswould helptheimplementation oftheWTO Agreement
andwould increase theparticipation ofdeveloping countries inthemultilateral trading system.
31. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthatherdelegation agreed withtheDirector-General that
increasedcooperationamonginstitutionswouldgiveopportunitiesforcross-fertilization.Complementary
work programmes would support thetheme ofpartnership fordevelopment ashighlighted attherecent
UNCTAD conference. Awritten stocktaking oftrade related undertakings byvarious international
andregional organizations would clarify theextent ofoverlap andpossible duplication. Shesupported
theproposal made bytherepresentative ofSingapore thattheITCpaper presented toUNCTAD be
issued asanofficial document. Follow-up andevaluation oftechnical cooperation should bepartof
theCommittee 'slong-term programme strategies. Shestressed thattechnical assistance should be
demand-driven andachieve tangible results. Itcould assist WTO accessions andimplementation of
WTO agreements. Itwasimperative thatdeveloping countries beincluded inthedebate onnewtrade
issues. Their input would benecessary forabalanced agreement onanyofthese issues. Shecalled
ontheCTDtoimproveitseducativeroleandtoraiseitsprofilebyupgradingitspublicrelationsactivities
andbytakingadvantage,whereappropriate,ofmoreinnovativeformsofglobalcommunicationincluding
informationtechnology.Newtechnologytoaccessindustrial,agricultural,environmentalandeducational
expertise hadbeendiscussed attherecent EUMinisterial Conference onInformation Technology and
atthesecond Ministerial Conference onInformation Society andDevelopment inJohannesburg.
Developments inthisareacarried thepotential forcross-fertilization.
32. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland agreed withtheChairman andtheDirector-General onthe
needforspecial efforts infavour ofleast-developed countries. Stressing theimportance thatSwitzerland
placed onarational distribution ofresponsibilities, hewelcomed theincreased coordination between
WTO, UNCTAD andITC. Aseminar wasorganized recently bySwitzerland toassess theneeds for
technical cooperation intheareaoftrade; toclarify thespecific roles ofvarious agencies; andto
devise ameans ofevaluating technical assistance. Thereport, published asanUNCTAD document,
stressed theneedforstrengthening cooperation between multilateral agencies andbeneficiaries with
aview tocreating newsynergies andavoiding duplication. Itrecommended increased cooperation
based onanexchange ofinformation, jointanalyses ofcooperation programmes andthesharing of
know-how. TheSwiss Government hadputforward concrete proposals forincreasing cooperation
between agencies, beneficiaries anddonors attheoperational levelbymeans ofintegrated programmes
foracountry oraregion, andforimproving transparency withregard totrade-related assistance. The
Swiss Government looked forward tocollaboration withallthemultilateral agencies inimplementing
theproposals.WT/COMTD/M/6
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33. Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic saidthateconomies intransition were allfacing
difficulties arising frompolitical andeconomic changes andthattheyexperienced thesame necessity
toraisetheirlevelofparticipation inthemultilateral trading system asthedeveloping countries. He
hadparticipated inatradepolicy course runbytheGATT andfunded bytheSwiss Government. Such
programmes werebeneficial asofficials acquired asignificant expertise inGATT/WTO matters. Efforts
needed tobebuiltupon through coordinated initiatives bynational administrations, more developed
members andinternational organizations. Hehadbenefited greatly from attending seminars on
anti-dumping, andonsanitary andphytosanitary measure (funded bytheUSgovernment) andwas
oftheviewthatbothprivate andstateparticipation should beencouraged.
34. Therepresentative ofTanzania welcomed thecommitment toincreased participation ofthe
least-developed countries inthemultilateral trading system andagreed withtherepresentative ofthe
ECthatmore could bedone byadvanced developing countries. While heagreed with the
Director-General thatitwastooearly toseethebenefits oftheUruguay Round, governments were
alreadyfeelingtheburdenofmeetingtheirobligations.Developedcountriesshouldassistleast-developed
countries inincreasing theirparticipation inthemeetings through theadoption oftheappropriate
international support measures andalsobyfulfilling thecommitments theymade inthecontext ofthe
Uruguay Round. Hestrongly supported initiatives towards integrated technical assistance programmes
inAfricancountries.Whilesupportingdemand-driventechnicalassistance,itwouldattimesbenecessary
fortheSecretariat totaketheinitiative tosuggest technical assistance, andtomake known inwhat
areas assistance wasavailable. Helooked forward totheearly implementation ofabound zerotariff
forexports ofleast-developed countries.
35. Therepresentative ofNewZealand commended theDirector-General andtheChairman for
theirvisionandsaidthathisdelegationattachedimportancetohumanresourcedevelopmentandimproved
understanding oftheWTO system. NewZealand hadalready made amodest contribution toWTO
funds. Therepresentative ofVenezuela saidthattheChairman andtheDirector-General hadshown
theimportance theyplaced onincreasing theparticipation ofdeveloping countries inthemultilateral
trading system. Hestressed theimportance ofaqualitative andquantitative improvement inthelevel
ofparticipation ofdeveloping countries. Although heaccepted thattechnical assistance for
least-developed countries should havepriority, heshared theconcern expressed bytherepresentative
ofCuba asregards thedeclining trend oftechnical cooperation withcountries inLatin America and
theCaribbean. Thequestionnaire laidthefoundations forestablishing priorities andensuring that
maximum usewasmade ofavailable resources.
36. Therepresentative ofElSalvador, endorsing thestatement made bytherepresentative ofCuba,
wished toputonrecord isdelegation 'sinterest inestablishing priorities based onnational experience
sothatexpectations were met. Therepresentative ofJapan supported thebasic direction inwhich
technical assistance wasmoving. Hewished toemphasize theimportance ofself-help, ofcoordination
andofconcentrating WTO technical assistance inareas ofitscompetence. Thequestionnaire would
beveryuseful indetermining priorities. Therepresentative ofKorea thought thatitwasnecessary
fortechnical assistance tobedemand-driven, particularly asresources werelimited. Inaddition there
should benoduplication, particularly intheprogrammes ofWTO andUNCTAD. Hehadsuggestions
onthequestionnaire which hewould takeupwiththeSecretariat onabilateral basis. Therepresentative
ofPoland wasoftheviewthattheincreased coordination between WTO, UNCTAD andITCcould
beextended toWIPO, World Bank andIMF. Agreeing withthepriority being attached totheneeds
oftheleast-developed countries, hethought thattheneeds ofthecountries acceding totheWTO were
alsoimportant. Hestressed theusefulness ofseminars andwelcomed thedecision topublish aHandbook
onNotification Obligations.WT/COMTD/M/6
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37. TheChairman welcomed thequality ofthediscussion anddrew attention totheusefulness of
theDirector-General 'sstatement asanintroduction tothediscussion ontheprovision ofguidelines.
TheWTO wasapartnership andeconomic development wasintheinterest ofallcountries. Technical
cooperation enabled countries toseizeopportunities; coordination withother agencies wasnecessary
todirect resources towhere theywould beputtogood useandremove anyduplication. While
coordination withUNCTAD andITCwasofparamount importance, coordination withtheBretton
Woods Institutions wasalsoimportant. Theinitiatives infavour ofleast-developed countries were
veryencouraging. Stressing theimportance ofworking inpartnership, hecalled onevery country
toparticipate inthepreparations fortheSingapore meeting. Hewould convene another meeting shortly
togointothespecificities oftheguidelines sothattheSecretariat could organize acoordinated and
coherent programme oftechnical assistance. Reporting ontheCTD'sinformal consultations onthe
preparations forSingapore, hestated thathewasintouch withtheChairpersons ofother WTO bodies
toobtain information onspecific provisions infavour ofdeveloping countries tobeimplemented
multilaterally. Inaddition, theSecretariat waspreparing astudy based oncomments frommembers,
andhewould himself havefurther consultations.
38. Reconvening themeeting on7June, theChairman recalled theinteresting discussion thathad
taken place aftertheDirector-General delivered hisstatement totheSixth Session oftheCommittee
onTrade andDevelopment (CTD). Returning toitemBoftheagenda ("Provision ofguidelines for
WorldTradeOrganization(WTO)technicalcooperation),heinviteddelegationstoinformtheCommittee
oftheirviews onthefollowing: (i)thequestionnaire ontechnical cooperation; (ii)pastexperience
ofmembers withtechnical assistance either asrecipients ofsuchassistance fromWTO orasproviders
ofsuchassistance onabilateral basis; (iii)thescope ofWTO activities, whether itshould beextended,
what areas itshould cover, whether theWTO should approach other governmental and/or non-
governmental institutions forthefunding andoncostsharing; and(iv)theformtheguidelines should
take: whether priorities were tobeformulated onthebasis ofthescope ofactivities, onthe
country/regional distribution, oronthebasis ofmodes ofdelivery; andwhether theyshould beset
inbudgetary terms. Herecalled that,under agenda itemC(Other Business), therepresentative of
theUnited States intended tomake anintervention. Heexpected toreceive reactions tothequestionnaire
atthemeeting scheduled forJuly.
39. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community (EC)looked forward totheresponses tothe
questionnaire, which hethought, could serve theinvaluable purpose ofacquainting donors withthe
realtechnical assistance needs ofdeveloping countries. TheEuropean Communities would usethe
opportunity tomake astatement which would reflect theirperspectives oftechnical cooperation. The
representative ofNorway, agreeing ontheusefulness ofthequestionnaire, suggested some drafting
changes. Hewanted thewords "ifnoplease specify" and"ifyesplease specify" added attheend
ofthefirstquestionunderthetitleheading"InstitutionalFramework"and"DraftingofLaws,Regulations
andProcedures",respectively.TherepresentativeofJapancommendedthequestionnaireandencouraged
recipient countries torespond, since itwould assist providers oftechnical assistance toknow exactly
whattheirneeds were.
40. Therepresentative ofEgypt expressed satisfaction withtheChairman 'seffort torevitalize the
work oftheCommittee, andhisemphasis onthecomplementarity between thework done bythis
Committee andbyUnited Nations Conference onTrade andDevelopment (UNCTAD). Technical
assistance wasanessential element ofthebalance ofrights andobligations inWTO agreements. The
Chairman 'sefforts toreceive information onhowissues pertaining todeveloping countries werebeing
dealtwithinother Committees oftheWTO wastobewelcomed. Such aglobal viewbytheCTD
wouldbeanimportantcontributiontotheMinisterialmeetinginSingapore.Theoverallleveloftechnical
assistance since theentry intoforce oftheUruguay Round agreements fellshort oftheneeds and
expectations ofrecipient countries. Itwasnecessary totranslate intodeeds thepriority attachedWT/COMTD/M/6
Page12
universally, including bytheDirector-General ofWTO, toAfrica. Hethenasked thatpriority areas
forWTO technical cooperation beidentified, aswellastherelevant competence ofthevarious
organizations including UNCTAD andInternational Trade Centre (ITC). While hefullysupported
cooperation, synergy andnon-duplication among therelevant organizations, theWTO ought tobeable
tofinance programmes which fellwithin itscompetence from itsownresources. Hewasconcerned
about thereference, made inWTO/AIR/326, toprojects funded bytheWorld BankforEgyptian officials
onsafeguards,anti-dumpingandcountervailingdutiesandtheworkshopfundedbyNorwayforcountries
intransition. Technical cooperation should probably notbeimplemented within country programmes
oftherelevant International Financial Institutions. Hestressed theimportance offollow-up which
should bemade anintegral partoftechnical cooperation programmes. Turning tothequestionnaire,
heagreed thatitwasnecessary tohaveaglobal viewoftechnical assistance requirements. Maximum
benefit could beobtained ifeachorganization concentrated intheareas within theircompetences. It
wasnecessary toagree whether suchanoverview should betaken bytheUNCTAD ortheWTO.
Important elements inthequestionnaire related toresearch capabilities, drafting oflawsandregulations
andinstruments forenforcing andmonitoring policies. While acknowledging theroleoftechnical
cooperationactivitiesattheregional,intra-regionalandsub-regionallevels,heplacedprimaryimportance
toactivities atthenational level: needs andconditions could vary, ascould thelegalandinstitutional
framework. Herequested thattechnical assistance should particularly focus onthefollowing:
(i)assisting countries tocomply withnotification obligations; (ii)making fulluseoftheprovisions
invarious agreements fortransitional periods; (iii)arresting theincreasing marginalization ofsome
countries andintegrating themintotheglobal economy byidentifying andutilizing tradeopportunities,
andbyusing newinformation technology methods forpromoting trade; and(iv)reinforcing the
institutional andhuman capacities ofdeveloping countries bothatthegovernmental levelandtheprivate
sector level. Highly specialized advisory missions andtraining programmes andmaterial weresuperior
toseminars asmodes ofdelivery. There wasinsufficient experience forsetting rigid priorities for
theallocation offunds. Moreover, technical assistance should beprovided todeveloping countries
whowere parties todispute settlement cases initiated intheWTO.
41. TherepresentativeofPakistan,commendingthewell-structuredandcomprehensivequestionnaire,
thought thatamore rational andneed-oriented technical assistance programme could beformulated
onthebasis ofresponses. Therepresentative ofCanada indicated that,atthefortchmoning sessions
oftheCommittee, hisdelegation wasprepared totakeupissues related toadditional funding andcost
sharing raised intheSecretariat paper onpolicy objectives for1997. Thepaper wassilent oneventual
guidelines ontechnical cooperation. Itwasimportant toensure thattheobjectives inthatpaper
corresponded totheguidelines being developed intheCTD. Hisdelegation would wishtorevert to
thequestions raised inthatpaper: inparticular whether theWTO should approach governmental and
non-governmental organizations forpurposes offunding technical cooperation activities andtheissue
ofcostsharing. TheChairman saidthatitwashisunderstanding thatthework onguidelines done
intheCTDwould beanessential inputintheevolution ofpolicy guidelines for1997. Therepresentative
ofPhilippines, speaking onbehalf ofASEAN, commended theChairman forfocusing ontechnical
cooperation. Itwasherbelief thatresponses tothequestionnaire would induce recipient countries
toexamine theroleofandrequirements fortechnical cooperation. Thiswastimely andopportune,
andwould bereflected inthewaytheirauthorities responded.
42. TheChairman saidthattheviews expressed would formanessential input intothefuture work
oftheCommittee. Turning totheguidelines fortechnical cooperation, hethought thatitwould be
appropriate toheartheexperience ofdonor countries andrecipients oftechnical assistance. Delegations
werealsoinvited togivetheirviews onthequestion ofwhether thescope ofWTO technical cooperation
should beextended andifso,towhich areas; andontheapproach which theWTO should adopt as
regardscostsharing:shoulditapproachgovernmentsandNGOstoseekfundingoftechnicalcooperation
activities? Therepresentative ofKorea welcomed thequestionnaire andhighlighted thedifficultiesWT/COMTD/M/6
Page13
facing many least-developed members ofWTO. Every effort should bemade tohelpthemtakeamore
activepartindeliberationslikethoseinthisCommittee.Manyleast-developedcountriesdidnotmaintain
representation inGeneva andcould notparticipate inmeetings. Requesting theWTO topursue all
waysofincreasing funding including theviability ofcostsharing, hesaidthathisdelegation waswilling
toplayitspartinthespirit ofsouth-South cooperation. Therepresentative ofMorocco wasofthe
viewthatthequestionnaire could provide agood basis forstocktaking. Hethought amore incisive
analysisthanthatprovidedinWTOdocumentWT/COMTD/W/14wasnecessary:Itwouldbenecessary
tohavenotonlyanumerical enumeration ofseminars butalsoinformation oncountries which had
participated, subjects covered, andanevaluation oftheresults. Anevaluation wasvitalfordetermining
costefficiency andtoassess towhatextent themeans deployed andobjectives achieved. Technical
cooperation activities should bevisible andpredictable, andestablished according toprogrammes which
could beevaluated. Hesuggested thattheCTD setupanevaluation mechanism toassess how
programmes measured upagainst objectives setintheCommittee.
43. Therepresentative ofElSalvador emphasized thattechnical cooperation should beadapted
totheneeds andpriorities ofrecipients. Theguidelines fortechnical cooperation intheWTO could
beextended toother organizations. Theincreased complexity ofWTO activities wasreflected inthe
requirements oftechnical cooperation. Thefundamental objective ofWTO technical cooperation was
toassist recipients inbetter understanding rulesandstandards thatneeded tobeimplemented andto
strengthen thehuman andinstitutional capacities withaviewtoincreasing theparticipation ofdeveloping
countries inthemultilateral trading system. From herdelegation 'spoint ofview, themosteffective
mode ofdelivery oftechnical assistance wasthrough theorganization oftradepolicy courses forofficials
from developing countries. Ithadgiven thechance todelegates from hercapital toenter intothe
dynamics oftheongoing dialogue andtoincrease theirconfidence inthesystem 'sresponsiveness to
theneeds ofcountries atdifferent levels ofdevelopment including ElSalvador. Sharing experiences
andknowledge withcolleagues from other countries andregions hadhadanoverall positive effect.
Herdelegation hadalsobenefited fromshort-term seminars ontechnical aspects thatincluded simulation
exercises. Hercountry 'sexperience withregional andnational seminars hadnotbeenentirely positive;
shestressed theneedforresources andefforts tobewelltargeted. Sheplaced onrecord ElSalvador 's
appreciation fortheprofessional assistance received fromWTO officials. Looking ahead, shereiterated
theneedtostrengthen theinstitutional andhuman capacities ofdeveloping countries. Inthatcontext,
special efforts should bemade todeepen theknowledge ofofficials fromcapitals whowereresponsible
foradministering WTO agreements. Thelackofasufficient number oftrained officials incapitals
whowere familiar with themultilateral trading system complicated theincorporation ofWTO
commitments intothedomestic legalsystem. There wasneedtoincrease thefrequency oftraining
courses intheSpanish language; onewayofovercoming financial limitations would betoshorten
theduration ofeachcourse andhaveacourse every yearinEnglish, inFrench andinSpanish. She
suggested adopting thetraining programme oftheCommission oftheEC,sothatofficials fromcapitals
could haveachance towork atassigned tasksintheWTO andparticipate inthedailywork. Herown
country conducted a10-month programme, which wasinoperation since June1995, which brought
officials toitsmission inGeneva fortwotofourweeks. Their arrival wastimed tocoincide with
meetings intheirareaofresponsibility. Theywould alsomeetofficials intheWTO andother delegates.
Shewasuncertain whether ElSalvador could, forfinancial reasons, continue withthisprogramme,
andsuggestedthatresourcesbemadeavailableforsuchprogrammesbytheWTOandbyotherMembers.
44. Therepresentative ofPakistan introduced awritten proposal onguidelines forWTO technical
cooperation which wasaimed atredirecting thefocus offuture technical assistance inthefaceofpost-
Uruguay Round realities. Heunderlined theneedforfocusing oninstitutional andhuman capacity
building indeveloping countries inorder tohaveabroad-based impact. There wasaneedtogive
theprivate sector access totechnical assistance, since theywere theoneswhomade thenecessary
business decisions. Pakistan endorsed coordination withinstitutions suchastheWorld Bank, theAsianWT/COMTD/M/6
Page14
Bank andUNDP soastogetmaximum useofavailable resources; however, costsharing bythe
government andnon-government organizations indeveloping countries wasnotafeasible proposition.
TheChairman thanked Pakistan fortheconstructive proposal andstated thatsome oftheproposals
alsofellwithin thecompetence ofUNCTAD andITC.
45. Therepresentative ofHong Kong stated thathisdelegation found thetrade policy courses and
specific courses suchastheoneondispute settlement veryuseful. Suchhorizontal training activities
could contribute toraising thegeneral level ofunderstanding oftheWTO system andhelpthe
implementation ofthecommitments undertaken during theUruguay Round. TheSecretariat needed
toexplore howitstraining programme could beexpanded, sothatmany officials from developing
countries could benefit fromit.Members could alsostartthinking about howresources maybeallocated
tomeetadditional demands. Heagreed withthepriority given totheneeds ofleast-developed countries
andcalled forageographical balance inmeeting theneeds fortechnical assistance. Themain source
offundingshouldcomefromMembers;andwhilehewelcomedandencouragedfundingfrominstitutions
andnon-governmental organizations, suchfinancing should becomplementary toresources provided
byWTO. Theguidelines could, without imposing rigidcriteria, consider howtheWTO could fund
technical assistance activities falling initsareaofcompetence.
46. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland noted thataftertheUruguay Round agreements came into
force, theneeds fortechnical assistance, particularly ofleast-developed countries, hadincreased
considerably. Itwasnecessary andappropriate toestablish guidelines fortrade-related technical
assistance provided bytheWTO, sothatthere could beanefficient response todemand. Keeping
inmind thatthemain responsibility oftheWTO wasnotintheareaoftechnical assistance andthat
itshould notbetransferred intoatechnical cooperation agency, herdelegation suggested thatitmight
beuseful iftheguidelines which were tobeadopted bytheGeneral Council reflected thefollowing
considerations:
(a) WTO technical assistance should concentrate ontheareas within itssphere of
competence andexpertise. These included both assistance intheareaofthe
implementation oftheresults oftheUruguay Round, including dispute settlement and
thetraining ofofficers responsible forWTO issues, including onnegotiation techniques.
(b) Organizational andinstitutional modalities oftechnical assistance within WTO should
bedefined inorder toimprove transparency andthemanagement oftechnical assistance.
TheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment should beappropriately informed andhave
anoverall purview ofalltechnical assistance activities inWTO. TheSecretariat should,
periodically, present arelevant andsystematic report ontechnical cooperation activities
underwayandthoseprogrammedforthefuture.Thereportshouldalsoincludeasection
onthebudgetary implications oftheseactivities. TheCommittee should assesannually
theresults ofactivities falling within itscompetence anddraw lessons forthefuture.
(c) Criteria andprinciples underlying activities intheareaoftechnical cooperation that
would ensure optimum utilization ofresources, sustainability andtimeliness should
begivenpriority.Coursesandseminarsshouldaimatcreatingtrainingability(monitors
andtrainers) inrecipient countries andatusing local expertise whenever possible.
Withaviewtoensuring theactive participation oftherecipient countries, theywould
beasked tocover, inaccordance withtheirlevelofdevelopment, certain costslinked
tothetechnical cooperation projects, forexample, through contributions inkind.
(d) Coordination between different agencies withamandate intradeshould beintensified
withtheaimofsharing responsibilities according tospecific areas ofcompetence andWT/COMTD/M/6
Page15
expertise inarational fashion. Withaviewtofurther improving transparency, ageneral
overview ofactivities indifferent organizations could becompiled and,withthehelp
ofnewtechnology, bemade available forinteractive consultation byexecuting bodies,
governments andtheprivate sector.
(e) Abasic levelofactivities, which would needtobedefined, should befinanced bythe
regular budget oftheWTO. Additional resources could come from international
financial institutions orother donor sources. Aglobal fundofallavailable resources
could besetupandmanaged bytheWTO inconformity withmultilateral guidelines
andwithmanagement criteria drawn upbytheCTD, incooperation withtheBudget
Committee. TheCTD could identify therules governing theallocation ofactivities
according tothedifferent types offunding.
47. TheChairmansaidthatSwitzerland'swellthoughtoutinterventionwasveryusefulandwelcomed
theofferbytheSwiss delegation tomake available adetailed paper outlining itsviews forcirculation
todelegations asanon-paper.
48. Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthat,inthelightofhiscountry 'sexperience, hisdelegation
wasoftheviewthattheWTO 'stechnical cooperation activities should bedeveloped inresponse to
specific requests bycountries. Activities should bereviewed periodically andadjusted according to
thecircumstances prevailing atthattime. Thiswould beawayofidentifying theproblems which had
beenencountered bythemajority ofcountries, anddevising theappropriate policy responses. Argentina
would beready toexamine further theconcept ofcostsharing. Basic training courses heldinGeneva
were extremely useful andshould becontinued. Itshould beexplored iftheirfrequency could be
increased. Hiscountry hadbenefited verymuch fromthese seminars, andhewasconcerned thatthe
fewcandidates recently proposed byitwould nothaveplaces ontheprogramme. Argentina alsoplaced
great importance ontraining seminars, which focused onspecific topics suchasthenewdispute
settlement mechanism, TRIPS, TRIMS andonTrade andEnvironment. TheWTO should examine
thefeasibility ofholding jointseminars withUNITAR, which hadaproven track record inthisarea.
Suchseminars enabled junior officials togainabetter understanding oftherelevant issues andequipped
themtobetter handle issues which might arise. Argentina appreciated technical assistance which was
aimed atstrengthening thehuman andinstitutional capacities ofdeveloping countries; suchassistance
equipped focalpoints incapitals tomeetimplementation obligations, andtocomply withnotification
obligations which seemed tocreate significant problems forsome developing countries. Hesuggested
thattheSecretariat assist withtheorganization ofseminars atthenational andatregional levels,
particularly those concerned withthestrengthening ofinstitutions responsible fortheimplementation
ofWTO agreements. Heagreed withPakistan ontheneedtodisseminate information aswidely as
possible sothattheprivate sector would gainknowledge ofWTO rules andregulations, andwould
obtain acomprehensive understanding oftheAgreements onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures and
Technical Barriers toTrade. Information already available wasattimes inadequately distributed and
there wasaclear needtoimprove access toinformation. TheWTO inconjunction withITCand
UNCTAD could consider theestablishment ofon-line databanks onnational rules, particularly those
relatingtotheSPSAgreementandtheTBTagreement.Thetechnicalcooperationprogrammesorganized
bytheSecretariat were veryuseful; theywere averyimportant element inthetraining ofofficials
andinthestrengthening ofinstitutional capacity.
49. Therepresentative ofIndia welcomed thequestionnaire asaninformation gathering exercise
thatwould helptodefine theparameters oftechnical cooperation. Hestated thattechnical assistance
should respond totherequests ofrecipient countries. Hebelieved thatthequestionnaire would reinforce
thatapproach totechnical assistance. Themain objective oftechnical cooperation should becapacity
building inrecipient countries. Itwasnecessary thatspecific requirements ofrecipients beidentified,WT/COMTD/M/6
Page16
andappropriate expertise made available. Theinclusion oftechnical experts fromdeveloping countries
wasimportant astheywerelikely tobebetter placed torespond torequirements ofdeveloping countries.
Turning totechnical cooperation through thetransfer oftechnology andequipment, hestressed that
suchtransfers mustnotbeanendinthemselves butanintegral partofaprocess leading tosustainable
development. Hestressed theimportance ofsmall andmedium-sized enterprises benefitting from
technical cooperation. These enterprises werethebackbone ofthedevelopment effort inmany countries;
theywereactive inmanufacturing andinexport activities, andtheirgrowth should besupported. He
suggested thatthefunding oftechnical cooperation should come from developed country Members
oftheWTO, andthrough costsharing withother developmental organizations.
50. Therepresentative ofthePhilippines, speaking onbehalf ofASEAN, saidthattrade policy
courses organized bytheWTO weregreatly valued. Shewasinterested intheideaadvanced bythe
representative ofElSalvador toshorten theduration ofthecourse, soastocreate thepossibility of
organizing additional courses. Sheplaced special emphasis onseminars onspecific subjects suchas
theoneonanti-dumping which hasbeenofgreat benefit toparticipants. Regional seminars should
encourage participants toshare theirexperiences withWTO agreements; eachseminar should have
afinalsession where participants hadachance toevaluate theirexperience, andtoshare theirdomestic
experience inbringing national lawsandregulations intoconformity withWTO agreements. Sheagreed
withtherepresentative ofIndiathattheexpertise available indeveloping countries should beharnessed.
ThescopeoftechnicalcooperationactivitiesshouldbelimitedtothoseareaswhichfellwithintheWTO's
competence. Shesupported theideaofcostsharing, andnoted thatASEAN hadalready funded certain
WTO technical cooperation activities. Therepresentative ofCuba saidthattechnical cooperation should
havepriority, asitwasdirectly related tocommitments undertaken bydeveloping countries intheWTO,
andtotheexpansion oftrade. Technical cooperation should haveuniversal coverage without omitting
certain priorities. Theguidelines should takeintoaccount theparticular needs ofdeveloping countries.
Regional initiatives could bring together issues ofcommon interest. Seminars andbilateral assistance
tohiscountry hadbeen very valuable, particularly trade policy courses. Heagreed with the
representative ofElSalvador ontheneedtohaveacourse intheSpanish language eachyear. Technical
assistance should beprovided toassist developing countries incomplying withtheir notification
obligations, andinmodifying theirdomestic lawssoastobring themintoconformity withtheirWTO
commitments. Heagreed thatcoordination withother organizations suchasUNCTAD andITCshould
beincreased, taking intoaccount theirdifferent fields ofexpertise.
51. Therepresentative ofJamaica saidthattradepolicy courses andseminars hadbeenveryuseful.
Shesaidthatconsideration should begiven toextending theWTO mandate intechnical cooperation.
Seminars, while useful, wereinsufficient forbuilding upthenecessary expertise incapitals. Training
courses should beavailable toalarger number ofparticipants, andsome kindofpractical experience
needed tobeincluded. Sheemphasized theneedtoincrease funding sothatcountries likeher'scould
build upabodyofexperts inWTO lawsandregulations, andcould strengthen institutional capacities
needed tomeettheirobligations. Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic welcomed theopportunity
tohaveastructured discussion ontechnical cooperation. Hisdelegation wasawaiting theresponses
tothequestionnaire andlooked forward tothemeeting atwhich these responses would bediscussed.
Seminars onanti-dumping, SPSanddispute settlement hadbeenuseful, ashadthose sponsored, for
instance, bytheSwiss Government directed atincreasing theknowledge ofstate officials and
entrepreneurs. Hisauthorities looked forward toreceiving moreassistance inprocessing andevaluating
responses tonotification requirements. Hehoped thatcountries intransition would haveaccess to
courses similar tothose organized fordeveloping country officials. Therepresentative ofPoland said
thathiscountry waslooking forward tocontinuing toreceive technical assistance; hisauthorities had
inthepastfound technical assistance tobeextremely helpful. Trade policy courses aswellasseminars,
particularly those onanti-dumping anddispute settlement hadbeenuseful toyoung officials. While
workshops organized byWTO hadbeenuseful, there were many officials incapitals whostillhadWT/COMTD/M/6
Page17
problems withnotification obligations. Thepreparation ofaguide, suchastheoneproposed inthe
Working Group onNotifications, could beveryhelpful particularly intheareas oftechnical barriers
totradeandsubsidies. Acompilation ofperiodic documents evaluating thebenefits ofincreased market
access resulting from theUruguay Round could alsobehelpful.
52. Therepresentative ofBrazil saidthathisgovernment 'sofficials hadfound thetraining courses
useful withaviewtoensuring maximum benefit there wasperhaps merit inintroducing anevaluation
session attheendofeachcourse. Needs varied andanumber ofcourses probably hadtobere-designed.
Hisgovernment hadorganized seminars, andwasoftheview thatregional seminars could becost
effective. Heagreed thatemphasis should beplaced onassistance inthenewareas. Therepresentative
ofPeruunderlined theimportance thattheCommittee evaluate theeffectiveness oftechnical cooperation.
Thiscould bedonebiannually withtheviewofmaking recommendations toMinisters. Heagreed
ontheusefulness oftradepolicy courses andontheneedtoincrease theirfrequency, eveniftheduration
wasshortened. Hewentontosuggest thatannually, threetofivedayseminars beorganized forofficials
assigned toGeneva. Thiswould giveofficials, whoweredealing withaparticular area, anoverview
oftheWTO agreements.
53. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities welcomed theopportunity ofhearing views
ofdelegations ontheguidelines. TheSecretariat 'spaper lacked specifics; itwasnotclear whether
theSecretariat hadidentified different needs ofdeveloping countries onthebasis ofpastexperience;
itwasdoubtful ifnational seminars andtechnical missions were designed withthese needs inmind.
Itwould beuseful tohaveamore precise knowledge ofthecoverage ofthebriefing sessions. Regional
seminarswereusefulnotonlyforreasonsofcosteffectiveness,butalsobecausetheygavetheparticipants
achance toshare theirexperiences. TheSecretariat would beinabetter position toidentify theneeds
ofdifferent regions, andthecommon needs ofMembers inoneparticular region. Thefocus oftechnical
assistance should primarily beonassisting developing countries tocomply withtheirobligations under
thevarious WTO agreements. Heasked thatthespecial position ofleast-developed countries betaken
intoaccount; priority should begiven toensuring thatthose whowerenotMembers oftheWTO did
notmissthedeadline forratification. Hewelcomed theSecretariat 'spaper onthespecial integrated
programme forselected least-developed countries.
54. Therepresentative ofCote D'Ivoire saidthatthetraining activities inGeneva andspecific
missions organized incapitals wereveryuseful, asweretheseminars andworkshops organized atthe
national, sub-regional andregional levels. However, officials incapitals would benefit iftheduration
ofseminars organized incapitals wereextended. Herdelegation wasoftheviewthatthenumber of
officials participating inseminars organized inGeneva should beincreased. Thishadbecome necessary
given thecomplexity oftheUruguay Round agreements. Expressing hercountry 'sappreciation for
thetechnical assistance ithadreceived, sherequested that,inthefuture, theWTO should extend their
technical assistance programmes tosub-regional economic entities, astheirpolicies hadanimpact at
thenational level. Making effective useofinformation technology intechnical assistance programmes
would increase efficiency, andwould enable several ministries andgovernment departments tobenefit
from these programmes.
55. Therepresentative ofJapan intended tousehisgovernment 'snational experience withtechnical
assistance asaninput totheCommittee 'sdiscussions. Hisauthorities hadorganized three regional
seminars ontheresults oftheUruguay Round andthemultilateral trading system for22developing
nations inAsiaatthecostofCHF120,000 perseminar. TheWTO Secretariat 'sinput wasverymuch
appreciated. Thelessons which could bedrawn from thisexperience werethatthere wasaneedto
identify theactual needs ofrecipient countries andtotarget theassistance accordingly. Countries in
theprocess ofaccession andnewly acceded countries needed basicinformation; others needed specific
technical advice suchashowtoimplement notification obligations. Without adequate knowledge ofWT/COMTD/M/6
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theneeds ofrecipients, seminars andworkshops would notachieve theirintended purposes. Itwas
important tohavesome wayofgrasping theneeds ofeachdeveloping country. Japan hadalsoacquired
some experience indelivering bilateral technical assistance toRussia. Three experiences withsuch
assistance hadledJapan toconclude thatitwasbetter tosendexperts totherecipient country, rather
thantheother wayround. Inthisparticular case, officials from Russia visited Japan in1995, and
theJapanese officials visited Russia in1994 andin1996. Japanese officials whowenttoMoscow
wereabletogivetechnical assistance toofficials inmany ministries. Some hadpreviously nodirect
exposure toWTO work andneeded basic information; others needed more focused knowledge. WTO
should focus technical assistance onareaswithin itscompetence, suchasassisting developing countries
tocomply withtheir notification obligations. Thework being done toproduce aHandbook on
Notifications wasveryimportant. Hisexperience withsome working groups onaccession showed
theextent towhich technical assistance could benefit countries, especially when targeted atimproving
theknowledge ofacceding countries ofthefundamental rules oftheWTO, andwithrespect tohow
theorganization operated. Heplaced particular importance onfamiliarity withtheWTO Agreement
onAgriculture, asitcovered bothmarket access anddomestic measures. Itwould beveryuseful to
share knowledge withcountries andorganizations providing technical assistance soastoavoid
duplication. Theestablishment ofafocalpoint ineachorganization would facilitate theexchange of
information. Bilateral assistance could benotified totheWTO Secretariat, soastoenable ittotake
account ofthisinformation when drawing upitsownprogrammes. Hisdelegation wasnotsureabout
themerits ofseeking funding fromother sources norofcostsharing. However, itwashisdelegation 's
viewthatinsuchsituations,aconsensusadidemandacleardemarcationofresponsibilitieswasessential.
56. Therepresentative ofNorway referred tothetrustfundestablished byitforleast-developed
countries andstated thattheguidelines would improve transparency andincrease efficiency. His
authorities hadgiven thought totrade-related assistance andhadcome totheconclusion thatgreater
collaboration between those responsible fordevelopment assistance andtrade policy would beuseful.
Information about technical assistance missions could betransmitted tolocalrepresentatives ofdonor
countries; abriefing session attheconclusion would openthepossibility ofincreasing benefits through
synergy, aswould contact points fordealing withtrade-related technical assistance. Hisgovernment
wasoftheviewthattheWTO should restrict itsactivities ontechnical cooperation toareas inwhich
ithadcompetence, suchasexplaining thebasicrulesandthevarious agreements torecipient countries.
Activities such asinstitution building andexport promotion should have alower priority. The
representative ofAustralia emphasized theimportance ofguidelines, astheywould clearly identify
theobjectives oftheWTO technical assistance programme. Hisauthorities weregiving theissuecareful
consideration andwould come back toitlater. Their ownexperience testified tohowmuch the
Secretariat 'sassistance wasappreciated bycountries inthePacific region, whose needs varied greatly.
Thefocus ofWTO technical assistance should beontheareaswithin itscompetence, suchasaccessions
andimplementationofWTOagreements.Theyplacedimportanceonhavingamechanismforevaluating
theeffectiveness oftechnical assistance. Therepresentative ofMexico, commending theChairman
andtheSecretariat fortheirinitiatives related totechnical assistance, saidthat,asdemand fortechnical
assistance exceeded thecapacity todeliver, thesuggestions made bytherepresentatives ofElSalvador,
Philippines andPeruwerevaluable. Hesupported theEC'scallforefforts toencourage least-developed
countries toaccede before thedeadline of31December 1996. Therepresentative ofVenezuela strongly
endorsed theneedfortraining asufficient number ofofficials from capitals, whowere responsible
foradministering WTO agreements. Seminars ontheGeneral Agreement onTrade inServices were
helpful, ascountries suchashishadverylittleexperience inthisnewarea. Heagreed ontheneed
forclearly identifying thecompetences ofthedifferent organizations. Herequested theSecretariat
tocompile aninventory oftechnical assistance programmes focusing onmatters suchasSPS. Contacts
between recipients andthose delivering technical assistance werevitaltothesuccess ofanyprogramme;
suchcontacts facilitated theidentification oftherealneeds ofrecipient countries, andenabled donors
totarget theirassistance accordingly.WT/COMTD/M/6
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57. TheDeputy-Director General oftheWTO saidthatthere hadbeentwomain developments
intheareaoftechnical cooperation since thecompletion oftheUruguay Round negotiations. Firstly,
theneedforspecialized technical assistance bydeveloping countries hadincreased because ofthe
extension ofmultilateral disciplines toareas suchasservices, TRIPS andTRIMS. Secondly, there
wasthegrowing needfortheWTO totarget itsassistance oninstitutional andhuman capacity building
soastoequip developing countries, including thenewly acceded countries andleast-developed countries,
toparticipate effectively intheWTO andthemultilateral trading system. TheWTO wasgiving careful
consideration toimproving efficiency andputting resources tobestusethrough improved coordination
withother organizations. Itwasalsoexploring howstafflimitations could beovercome; inthat
connection theuseofconsultants wasbeing studied. Hehadlistened carefully tothecomments and
suggestions including theneedexpressed toenlarge anddiversify theactivities within theresources
available aswellastheneedforevaluation andforbriefing sessions. Henoted thattheHandbook
onNotifications wasbeing drawn upbytheSecretariat andwould bedistributed assoonasitwas
finalized.
58. TheChairman noted thewish expressed bymany delegations thatWTO document
WT/COMTD/W/14 berevised andanaddendum beissued. Herequested thedelegations oftheEC
tosubmit inwriting itsviews onwhat improvements should beintroduced intothedocument. He
stressed theimportance ofhaving detailed knowledge about theneeds ofrecipient countries, sothat
technical assistance could betargeted accordingly. Heproposed tohaveawell-structured inventory
oftheideasthathadbeenexpressed, withaviewtomaking recommendations toMinisters inSingapore.
Inaddition, theCommittee could usethisinventory asreference material when drafting guidelines
ontechnical cooperation inthefuture.
59. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
C. Other Business
60. TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStatessaidthatwhilepreferentialagreementsamongdeveloping
countries were outside therequirements ofArticle XXIV, there wasnevertheless aclear obligation
under theEnabling Clause tonotify suchagreements totheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment.
Hestrongly urged countries whohadnotnotified suchagreements todoso,inaspirit ofcreating
increased transparency.
61. TheChairman saidthatwithregard totheimplementation oftheUruguay Round commitments
vis-à-vis developing countries hehad,afterinformal contacts, addressed aletter totheChairpersons
ofother WTO bodies requesting information onprogress regarding suchmultilateral commitments.
Heintended totakethisupatthemeeting inJuly. Asregards thestudy ontheparticipation of
developing countries inthemultilateral trading system, hehadalready circulated adraftoutline which
hadbeenprepared bytheSecretariat onthebasis ofwritten andoralcomments. Efforts would be
made totakeaccount oftherequests andcomments made bydelegations. Thestudy would beready
bythesummer break affording theCommittee theopportunity toconsider andanalyze itsconclusions.
TheCommittee could thendecide whether ornottomake recommendations totheSingapore Ministerial
meeting. Looking beyond Singapore, henoted thatthereport would beofimmense usetothe
Committee, andwould probably setthedirection ofitsfuture work.
62. Therepresentative ofPerusaidthatitwould benecessary atsome stage todecide whether
suchastudy should beupdated regularly. Hisdelegation waspleased thatinvestment andcompetition
policy hadbeenincluded inthestudy. Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthatastudy ofmarket
access conditions should notbelimited totariffs, butinclude measures which acted asbarriers totradeWT/COMTD/M/6
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suchasanti-dumping measures, countervailing duties andsafeguards. Heasked theSecretariat that
itaddress initsstudy thequestion ofhow, asameans offurther integrating least-developed countries
intothemultilateral trading system, apackage oftariff liberalization, specifically targeted withtheir
interests inmind, could beimplemented.
63. Therepresentative ofIndiasaidthat,inaletter totheChairman, dated 26April, hisdelegation
hadindicated thatitwould notbeabletoaccept theinclusion ofcompetition andinternational investment
asitems intheSecretariat study. UNCTAD IXhadbeenmandated bygovernments toprepare astudy
aimed atclarifying thescope ofthesesubjects. Hewasinnowaytrying tounderestimate theimportance
orrelevance ofthesubjects, butitwasimportant nottolaunch anyparallel discussions. These issues
were currently being debated bytheheads ofdelegations, anditwould beprudent towaitforthe
conclusions. Furthermore, given timeconstraints andthecomplexity ofthesubjects, itwould notbe
possible fortheSecretariat tomake anin-depth study enabling theCTDtomake useful recommendations
toMinisters inSingapore. Hedidnotwishtopreempt discussions ontheissues which were going
onevennowamong heads ofdelegations. Furthermore, iftheCommittee intended tostudy theissues
withtheaimofdrafting possible recommendations toMinisters inSingapore, thiswould notpermit
thein-depth study required. Henoted thathisdelegation 'sposition precluded thepossibility offorming
aconsensus intheCommittee ontheSecretariat 'soutline contained inpaper 2882.
64. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthathereserved therighttocomment onthedocument which
hadjustbeenforwarded toTokyo. Therepresentative ofEgypt stressed thatitwasveryimportant
forherdelegation thatthestudy looked intotheissue ofrestrictive business practices andhowthey
negated liberalization ofmarket access, aswellashowtheplaying fieldcould belevelled. Shealso
stressed theimportance ofstudying theissue ofaccess totechnology, particularly theimpediments
which developing countries faced inacquiring technology atconcessional terms. Shequeried whether
theinclusion ofmacroeconomic management wasrelevant tothestudy. Therepresentative ofthe
European Communities saidthatthedoubts expressed could beassuaged iftheparagraph on"Summary
andConclusions" wereredrafted tospecify thatthestudy wasnotintended toleadtorecommendations,
butwasintended asaninformation gathering andeducative process onthereasons ofthe
underperformance ofsomecountries, particularly theleastdeveloped ones. Therepresentative ofPoland
saidthatthesection onexternal conditions should include asection onregional agreements, asitwould
beinteresting toidentify theadvantages anddisadvantages ofmembership tosucharrangements. The
roleofinternationalinstitutionsandtheinfluenceofprogrammesundertheiraegiscouldalsobeexamined
under thissection. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthathisdelegation would liketosee
moresymmetry between external conditions andtheeffects oftradepolicy onmarket access. However,
hewasprepared torelyontheChairman, andaccepted thatthedocument wasnota"shopping list"
forSingapore. Because ofinstitutional reasons, itwasunlikely thatelements suchasthecurrent
international financial andmonetary climate would bediscussed inSingapore. Heagreed withthe
representative oftheEuropean Communities thatitwould beappropriate toredraft theparagraph on
summary andconclusions.
65. TheChairman, noting theconcerns expressed withregard tonotification obligations, saidthat
theChairman ofthatgroup hadindicated tohimthatsuchconcerns werebeing addressed. Heassured
therepresentative ofVenezuela thatinstitutional andhuman capacity building would becovered in
thesection ofthestudy ondomestic conditions entitled "Institutional limitations". Hetooknoteof
thecomment made bytherepresentative ofIndiathatheneeded timetocontact hiscapital forinstructions
onthesection ofthestudy dealing withinvestment andinternational competition; andofthesuggestion
made bytherepresentative Hong Kong thatthesecond andthirdindents inthepaper could becombined
under thetitle"International economic andfinancial environments". Hestressed thatthestudy was
notintended tobeanything more thananinquiry intothereasons whysome countries were
underperforming. While theinclusion ofsubjects didnotsuggest thattheyfellwithin thecompetenceWT/COMTD/M/6
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oftheWTO, apriori exclusions ofsubjects would, inhisview, beself-defeating. Asfaraspossible,
thestudy would bebased oninformation already inthepublic domain, andwould nothavethestatus
ofaCTD document. Delegations could differ oraskforfurther elaboration. Hewould ensure that
therewasabalance intheissues covered inthereport. TheSecretariat would, onitsownresponsibility,
startgathering theinformation necessary toprepare thereport. TheChairman recalled thatthenext
meeting oftheCommittee would beaddressed bytheSecretary-General ofUNCTAD andtheDirector
oftheITC. TheCommittee would notonlyconsider ingreater depth theissue ofcoherence between
thethreeorganizations, butwould alsogainabetter appreciation ofhowUNCTAD andITCdesigned
andimplemented theirtechnical assistance programmes. TheChairman assured therepresentative
ofEgypt thattheCommittee would, atafuture meeting, review thepaper jointly prepared byWTO
andUNCTAD.
66. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.