JOB/GC/347  
 
18 July 2023  
(23-4885) Page: 1/4 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
WTO ACTION TO ASSIST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LDCS IN CRISIS RESPONSE  
COMMUNICATION FROM PAKISTAN  
The following communication, dated 17 July 2023, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of Pakistan.  
 
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1  CONTEXT  
1.1.  Developing and least -developed countries (LDCs) have been facing multiple challenges in 
responding to the COVID -19 pandemic and the subsequent polycrises. The domino effect of the 
crises has destabilized many economies. UNCTAD has pointed out that 'developing countries face 
mounting debt and insufficient international support, risking another lost decade ' and that 'growing 
global asymmetries threaten developing countries' resilience, requiring stronger multilateral action ' 
(Trade an d Development Report 2023). In this context, several developing countries and LDCs are 
struggling to not only raise standards of living, ensure decent jobs, and grow real incomes, as is the 
aim in the Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement, but also not backs lide and lose gains made over 
decades.  As a result, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is expected to become 
harder and more challenging.  
1.2.  The latest health, food and economic crises have made it amply clear to all that the timeliness 
of any response is crucial to the ability to mitigate a crisis, and to avoid a domino effect. Developing 
countries and LDCs lack the fiscal and monetary space and the range of policy tools  that richer 
governments have at their disposal to utilize in response to  crises. Their capacity to respond 
expeditiously and effectively is sometimes impacted by WTO rules that were designed with little 
consideration for interventions in times of such crises. Also, given the current status of Special and 
Differential Treatment  provisions under the WTO rules, much of these provisions lack precision and 
cannot be effectively operationalized in ways that would help with crises -related response. Lastly, 
the COVID -response experience at the WTO has demonstrated that if negotiations on crisis response 
measures start during the crisis, there is a strong possibility of the end result being too late and 
perhaps too little.  
1.3.  In light of these experiences, there is need for a pro -active decision by WTO Members that 
would allow the needed s pace for developing countries and LDCs facing a crisis to respond 
expeditiously and with the required policy tools to avoid deepening and spreading of the crisis. Such 
a decision should help members stay within the WTO rules and not risk violating them. Th erefore, it 
needs to be seen as adjusting to the new realities rather than seek typical 'carve -outs'. WTO needs 
to keep up with the times and evolving needs of its members.  
1.4.  The proposed decision concerns response measures taken only in the context of a cr isis and 
would enable developing countries and LDCs facing a crisis to access, over a temporary period of 
time, a toolbox of policy options. This decision will not only help avert deepening of the crisis but 
would also enable a better response and containm ent of the crisis. This is with the objective of 
ending the adverse effects on people and the economy of the concerned Member and reduce the 
possibilities of the spreading of the crisis to other Members. More broadly, this decision will 
contribute to cushi oning the trajectories of implementing the SDGs from the impact of crises and 
thus make the WTO more fit for the purpose of contributing towards the realization of the SDGs.  
 JOB/GC/347  
 
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  DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECISION  
WTO ACTION TO ASSIST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND LDCS IN CRISIS RESPONSE  
The Ministerial Conference , 
 
Having regard  to paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization;  
 
Acting  in follow -up of the WTO 12th Ministe rial Conference (MC12) mandates under the Ministerial 
Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID -19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future 
Pandemics, specifically paragraph 23 (WT/MIN(22)/31 WT/L/1142), and the MC12 mandate on WTO 
reform (WT/MIN(22)/24 WT/ L/1135, para. 3);  
 
Building  on the principles of predictability and transparency;  
 
 
Decides  as follows:  
 
1. Members agree that, notwithstanding the Articles listed in the Annex 1 to this Decision, a 
developing Member1 adversely affected by a crisis, may u ndertake any measures to respond to the 
crisis, for an initial period of 5 years, while fulfilling the conditions set out below under 5(i) and 5(ii).  
 
A developing Member notifying measures under this Decision that continues to be adversely affected 
by a c risis beyond the initial 5 years may maintain or renew the measures it undertook provided 
that the conditions set out under 6(i), 6(ii) and 6(iii) are met.  
 
2. For the purposes of this Decision.  
 
a. 'Crisis' includes one or more or a series of crises, of dom estic or global nature, including 
but not limited to, climatic and natural disasters, financial and economic crises, health 
emergencies including public health emergencies of international concern as determined 
by the World Health Organization (WHO), food -security related crises.  
b. 'Developing Member adversely affected by a crisis' means a developing Member that has 
met any one or more of the indicators in Annex 2.  
3. Members shall not challenge any measures notified under this Decision through the WTO 
Dispu te Settlement Mechanism or under Article XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
(GATT) or Article XXIII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).  
 
4. This Decision is without prejudice to the flexibilities, including Special and Di fferential 
Treatment, that Members have under various WTO agreements and rules.  
 
Notification and transparency  
5. A Member notifying measures under this Decision must:  
 
i. Notify the measures it undertakes in response to a crisis within a period of time that 
does not extend beyond [3] months from the date of implementing those measures;  
ii. Within a period that does not extend beyond one year, the concerned Member shall 
present to the relevant WTO Committees2 data concerning one or more of the 
indicators und er Annex 2 pertaining to the impact of the crisis on domestic conditions 
at the time of implementing the notified measures.  
 
1 For the purposes of this Decision, 'developing Member' includes least -developed country Members.  
2 The relevant Committee(s) is/are to be identified dependent on the kind of measures notified.  
 JOB/GC/347  
 
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  6. Where a Member maintains or renews measures notified under this Decision beyond the initial 
5 years:  
 
i. The concerned Member must notify the relevant Committee(s)3 and submit relevant 
data on one or more of the indicators listed in Annex 2;  
ii. The concerned Member shall be free to maintain or renew the measures for a period 
that does not exceed an additional [18] months without furthe r action by the 
concerned WTO bodies;  
iii. In case the concerned Member requires maintaining or renewing the measures for a 
period that exceeds [18] months, or in case of a second or any subsequent extension 
or renewal of the measures, the Member must submit t o the relevant Committee(s)4 
a request to that effect. Members shall grant the request except where all Members 
agree that the request is not justified given the domestic circumstances.   
Consultations  
7. Where a Member notifying measures under this Decision maintains or renews the measures 
beyond the initial 5 years, the Member must upon request hold consultations with other Members 
concerning the measures notified.  
 
Monitoring  
8. The relevant Committee(s ) shall monitor the information submitted under this Decision.  
 
 
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3 The relevant Committee(s) is/are to be identified dependent on the kind of measures notified.  
4 Where several Committees are involved, the request shall be considered granted whenever any of the 
involved Committees considers it and grants its.  JOB/GC/347  
 
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  ANNEXES:  
Annex 1 to the draft ministerial decision:  
 
i. Under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures:  the obligations under 
Articles 3 and 4 of Part II, Articles 5, 6 and 7 of Part III and Article 9 of Part IV;  
ii. Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 : the obligations under Article 
XI GATT on General Elimination of Quantitative Restriction, [ Article III on National 
Treatment], under Article XVIII.4.a and Article XVIII:B 9(a), (b), 10, 11, 12, and under 
the Understanding on the Balance -of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994;  
iii. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services : the obligations und er Article XI on 
payments and transfers;  
iv. Under the Agreement on Agriculture : the requirements under Articles 6.4 and Annex  2. 
v. Under the Agreement on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights : the 
obligations to implement or apply Sections 1, 4,  5 and 7 of Part II of the TRIPS 
Agreement or to enforce these Sections under Part III of the TRIPS Agreement (except 
as applicable to the protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms 'Sound 
Recordings ' and Broadcasting Organizations under Article 14 of the TRIPS Agreement)  
Annex 2 to the draft ministerial decision:  
 
This annex will identify indicators, including indicators related to food -security, production, financial 
crisis and balance -of-payments conditions, trade performance, climate related adv erse event, and 
health crisis.  
 
The indicators will capture the severity of the effect, including potential effect, that a crisis could 
have on a member 's economy and population. This will be a determining factor in whether the 
concerned Member is covered  by the proposed Decision. Thus, the use of the Decision will not depend 
on the mere fact of facing a crisis, but on the potential magnitude of its effects on the economy and 
livelihoods.  
 
 
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