RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/LDC/M/11*
27 May 1998
(98-2189)
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 23 APRIL 1998
Chair:  Ambassador H.H. Bruun (Denmark)
A. Adoption of the Agenda
1. The Sub-Committee adopted the agenda as contained in document WTO/AIR/813.
B. Update by the Secretariat on the Report of the Director-General to WTO Ministers on the High-
Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed Countries' Trade Development and
announcements by delegations on follow-up action in terms of market access
2. The Chairman said that the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed
Countries' Trade Development had recommended that a full Report on the outcome of and follow-up to
the Meeting be prepared by the Director-General and submitted to the WTO Ministerial Conference in
1998.  That report, which would be issued as a WT/MIN(98)/- document, had been circulated in
document WT/COMTD/W/40 for the information of delegations.1
3. The Secretariat said that, at the High-Level Meeting for Least-Developed Countries held in
October of the previous year, the Director-General had been requested to prepare a report to the WTOMinisterial Meeting in May on the outcome and the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting in order to
keep the momentum that had been generated by the High-Level Meeting and to not lose sight of its
objectives.   The Director-General had now prepared this report for submission to ministers and the texthad been circulated to the Committee on Trade and Development for transparency reasons.  The report
was divided into two parts.  First, an introduct ion by the Director-General.  The length of the
introduction reflected the importance he attached to the matter.  Second, a more factual account was
given of the follow-up actions taken after the Hi gh-Level Meeting:  the follow-up given to the
implementation of the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least-
Developed Countries and the follow-up to the announcements of increased market access.  With regard
to technical assistance, thirty-nine out of forty-eight least-developed countries had so far expressed aninterest in participating in the exercise by submitti ng competed needs assessments.  Thirty-four out of
the thirty-nine needs-assessments had been received by the end of the previous year which had allowed
the six agencies involved to review those needs-assessments and to draw up the agencies' Integrated
Responses to them.  The agencies had subsequently consulted with the 34 least-developed countries on
those Integrated Responses and the needs assessments with the Integrated Responses had been circulatedas official WTO documents in the WT/COMTD/IF/-series.
                                                     
*This symbol WT/COMTD/LDC/- continues the series WT/COMTD/LLDC/- and no change in the
numbering.
1 Subsequently circulated as document WT/MIN(98)/2.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/11
Page 2
4. The report of the Director-General also mentioned the next steps of the process.  In the second
stage of the process, it was up to the least-developed countries, with the assistance of the agencies, to
organize round-tables.  So far, seven least-developed countries had expressed interest in organizing
round-tables.  The agencies had also received expressions of interest from a number of international
organizations to participate in the second stage of the exercise.  The six agencies were finalizing an
arrangement for the management of the follow-up activities related to the Integrated Framework.
5. The second part of the report dealt with the other important agenda item of the High-Level
Meeting, market access.  A number of delegations had made announcements at the High-Level Meeting
of measures to increase the market access for products originating in the least-developed countries.
Delegations having taken such measures had been requested by the High-Level Meeting to notify those
to the WTO and UNCTAD.  Two such notifications had been received by the Secretariat covering
sixteen WTO Members in all: Turkey and the European Communities.
6. With regard to the recommendations that had em anated from the thematic round-tables of the
High-Level Meeting, the Director-General's report gave an account of the follow-up as far as the WTO
was concerned.  This included efforts to help least-developed countries in the process of accession to the
WTO and to accommodate, on a priority basis, requests from least-developed countries for trade-policy
reviews.  Finally, the report explained what the WTO was doing in the area of information technology
for development projects in least-developed countries.
7. The representative of Madagascar said that the report of the Director-General allowed
delegations to evaluate WTO's follow-up efforts to the High-Level Meeting for Least-Developed
Countries.  The creation of a post of least-developed country coordinator in the Technical Cooperation
and Training Division of the WTO Secretariat, the creation of a small administrative unit in the ITC,
and the establishment of reference centres in more than twenty least-developed countries were importantaspects of the technical assistance follow-up.  The ac tivities showed that the work of the Integrated
Framework was under way.  However, his delegation was concerned by the fact that the implementation
had been slow in several respects.  More than five months had elapsed since the High-Level Meeting
and the WTO Secretariat had only received two communications indicating enhanced market access for
least-developed country products.  Several members had promised such measures at the High-LevelMeeting.  His delegation was also interested in information about the status of the consultations held in
the Committees on Trade and Development and on Budget, Finance and Administration aimed at
finding a way to ensure solid financing of technical assistance activities.  He urged Members to follow-
up those consultations and to come forward with constructive proposals.  His delegation was of the view
that the report of the Director-General should be amended to reflect proposals to that effect whichwould be received before the Ministerial Conference.  His delegation hoped that the administrative unit
to be placed in the ITC would soon be functional.  The administrative unit was important as its primary
task would be to ensure that the objectives of the Integrated Framework were efficiently realized.
8. The representative of Norway said that the re sults of the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting
so far were encouraging and it was particularly encouraging to note the broad interest among least-
developed countries to participate in the follow-up exercises.  His delegation commended the
importance all six agencies seemed to attach to th e follow-up.  The establishment of an inter-agency
working group with the responsibility of managing the Integrated Framework and the setting up of a
small administrative unit in the ITC would provide the agencies with useful tools to ensure efficiency
and commitment to the follow-up work.  His delega tion shared the concern reflected in the report
regarding the financing of technical assistance activities.  As stated in the report, 80 per cent of the
technical assistance activities of the WTO Secretariat were financed by extra-budgetary resources.Those resources had been made available to the Secretariat by a relatively limited group of Members.
Technical assistance should be considered a core activity of the WTO's work and the financial burden
should be shared by more Members.  Extra-budgetary resources could not be relied upon on as aWT/COMTD/LDC/M/11
Page 3
permanent basis for those core activities.  His delegation therefore supported the ongoing consultations
to find a more just and sustainable way of financing technical assistance.
9. The representative of Bangladesh said that a major task of the Sub-Committee on Least-
Developed Countries during the coming year would be to monitor the follow-up to the High-Level
Meeting.  The implementation by the six agencies of the different aspects of the Integrated Framework
would also require continuous monitoring and evaluation by the Sub-Committee.  He joined therepresentative of Madagascar in expressing his disappointment with the pace of the progress of work
since the High-Level Meeting.  Six months had passed since the High-Level Meeting and not much had
been done in the areas of market access and technical assistance.  The circulation of the report of the
Director-General added to transparency.  He welcomed the emphasis the Director-General placed on the
importance of technical assistance in the third paragraph.  Increased and quicker disbursed technical
assistance was something the least-developed countries were interested in.  He welcomed the creation of
the post of least-developed country coordinator in the Technical Cooperation and Training Division as a
good sign and his delegation hoped that technical assistance would flow more smoothly as a result.
10. As had been pointed out by others and as was clearly stated in the report, the financing
arrangements for WTO's technical assistance were not satisfactory.  The situation was critical. The Sub-
Committee should take up the issue of appropriate financial arrangements for technical assistance in the
longer and medium term as a priority area of work.  His delegation had welcomed the Director-General's letter of July 1997 to all ministers stake-holders in the WTO, seeking increased market access
for products of particular export interest to least-developed countries.  His delegation was interested in
having further discussions on this important issue with other delegations.  The report mentioned that the
Director-General hoped to achieve complete connectivity by Internet with all least-developed country
Members and Observers' ministries of trade by the end of the year.  He hoped that that schedule wouldbe met.  The least-developed countries were expected to organize round-tables in cooperation with the
six agencies.  His government was currently in touch with the UNDP and the World Bank offices in
Dacca and planned to hold the round-table as soon as the other organizations were ready.  In that
context his delegation asked for increased technical assistance, not only in financial terms, but also in
terms of management and guidance in organizing the round-table, particularly from WTO, UNCTADand ITC.  During the round-table, the government would present its need-assessment document to the
donor community and hoped to receive pledges in definitive financial terms.  He reiterated that even
though six months had elapsed since the High-Level  Meeting, only two Members had notified market
access commitments.  His delegation urged other delegations that had made commitments to notify
them and those that had not made announcements at the High-Level Meeting to come forward withmeasures increasing the market access for products of export interest to least-developed countries.
11. The representative of the European Communities said that as the Director-General made his
report on his own responsibility, his delegation would take this opportunity to make some observations
relating to the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting in general.  First, as the European Communities had
notified the market access measures they had announced at the High-Level Meeting he felt comfortable
in putting pressure on others to come forward with their initiatives.  Not only the countries that had
made announcements at the High-Level Meeting should notify measures of increased market access forleast-developed countries, but also those countries , both developed and the most advanced developing
countries, that had not announced any measures, should rethink their positions and consider
contributing.  Second, in relation to technical assistance, it was essential that the least-developed
countries retain a sense of ownership in the exercise.  Third, it was important not only to follow-through
with the implementation, but also, at some point, to evaluate the technical assistance provided under the
Integrated Framework.  Finally, the Sub-Committee should continue to review the follow-up to the
High-Level Meeting in the coming years.  It would therefore be appropriate to have a standing item on
the agenda of the Sub-Committee on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting in order for the
Secretariat to report periodically on follow-up actions.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/11
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12. The Chairman recalled in that context the provisions of paragraph 16 of the report of the
Director-General which clearly indica ted the intention of the Secretariats of the six Agencies to report to
their respective Memberships.
13. The representative of the United States said that, as was frequently stated, the High-Level
Meeting, was the beginning of a process and not an end.  The work that proceeded after the High-Level
Meeting was therefore even more important than the ga thering itself.  He said that his delegation would
provide its government's notification on market access measures shortly.  GSP treatment for some 1,800
products had been enacted into law prior to the High-Level Meeting.  While the Sub-Committee had a
number of tasks, the work on technical assistance, as a spin-off from the High-Level Meeting, was
probably its most important one.  That work had only begun and a number of issues remained
outstanding.  In his report, the Director-General referred to the issue of funding of technical assistance
activities.  There were also the issues of identifying the ways and means of providing technical
assistance and of selecting the most appropriate institutions to provide such assistance, particularly inthe area of compliance with WTO commitments.
14. The representative of Japan said that the foll ow-up to the High-Level Meeting would be one of
the essential issues at the May Ministerial Conference.  His delegation was very interested in the
implementation of the Integrated Framework which it considered the most important outcome of the
High-Level Meeting.  He appreciated the work done so far by the six agencies involved and expectedthem to accelerate the work so that round-tables could be held as soon as possible during the course of
the year.
15. The representative of Djibouti said that the report of the Director-General gave detailed account
of the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting.  The creation of a special post in the Technical Cooperation
and Training Division would benefit the least-devel oped countries.  Technical assistance had benefitted
his and other least-developed countries, and would continue to do so.  In October for example, his
government would organize, with the participation of the WTO, a regional seminar for french-speaking
least-developed countries.
16. In terms of market access commitments, the representative of Canada informed Members that
her government had, as from 1 January 1998, moved beyond its commitments in the Agreement on
Textiles and Clothing to integrate textile products and remove quotas on a number of specific products
as recently notified to the WTO Textiles Monitoring Body.  Developing and least-developed countries
were expected to be the major beneficiaries of that liberalization as they were competitive producers.
The removal of quotas should allow those producers to gain a larger share of the import market than had
previously been possible under the quota system.  Her government was also exploring changes to itsprogramme of preferential market access for least-developed countries, including expansion of the duty-
free product coverage and liberalization of the rules of origin requirements.  Her government was in the
process of consulting with the public and business communities on those improvements.
17. The representative of Switzerland said that while his delegation did not have any comments on
the report of the Director-General as it was understood that it was presented on his own responsibility,
his delegation nevertheless agreed with most of it.  His delegation was of the view that the Integrated
Framework was the most important outcome of the High-Level Meeting.  There was still a lot of workahead for the organizations involved and more so for organizations other than the WTO.  As regards the
WTO, there was a problem in the financing of technical assistance and a solution had to be found.
Regarding initiatives to increase market access, his delegation had notified its measures in advance of
the High-Level Meeting, in document WT/COMTD/N/7 and should therefore be considered among the
Members having taken action.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/11
Page 5
18. The representative of Turkey said that during the High-Level Meeting, his government had
announced its intention to introduce additional preferential market access measures for the benefit of
least-developed countries.  In line with that statem ent, the government of Turkey had compiled a list of
products subject to preferential tariff rates if originating in least-developed countries.  The list had been
promulgated in the official gazette and contained some 250 products on 12-digit basis and replaced
unilateral preferential tariff rates applicable to those products originating in least-developed countries.In 1996, the imports of those products amounted to ar ound 600 million US dollars.  A list of beneficiary
countries was contained in document WT/COMTD/W/39, circulated on 30 March 1998.
19. The Chairman said that both the quality and the quantity of market access announcements were
important.  A couple of points had emerged from the interventions.  First, the importance of technical
assistance, in particular its funding arrangements which should be taken up as a priority issue by the
Sub-Committee, but also its evaluation.  Second, without prejudice to those delegations which had made
market access announcements, general disappointment had been expressed with the slow pace ofnotifications.  Finally, it had been suggested that follow-up to the High-Level Meeting should form a
standing agenda-item for the Sub-Committee.
20. He continued by saying that it seemed reasonable to wait for the outcome of the May
Ministerial before considering the pace and scope of the programme of work for the Sub-Committee for
the coming year.  He proposed to conduct informal consultations after the May Ministerial Meeting witha view to determining the Sub-Committee's future work programme.
21. The Sub-Committee took note of the statements made and encouraged further notifications of
improved market access in favour of the least-developed countries.
C. Other Business
22. The Chairman said that he intended to start subsequent meetings of the Sub-Committee exactly
on time.
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