RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/M/91  
 
21 July 2014  
(14-4213)  Page: 1/12  
Committee on Trade and Development 
Ninety-First Session    
   
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 7 JULY 2014 
 
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Pierre Claver Ndayiragije (Burundi) 
 
A.
 ADOPTION OF TH E AGENDA .................................................................................... 2  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................. 2  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers  ................................................................. 2  
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, 
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Common 
Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) 
and the Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Developpement  ...................................................... 2
 
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ............................................................. 2  
-  Implementation of the Technical Assistan ce and Training Plan: update by the 
Secretariat on the status of the Doha De velopment Agenda Glob al Trust Fund ........................... 2  
D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - WORK IN THE COMMITTEE ON THE BASIS OF 
THE CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDING STATEMENT FROM THE EIGHTH MINISTERIAL 
CONFERENCE (WT/MIN(11)/11) ..................................................................................... 4  
(i) Proposals by Members  .............................................................................................. 5  
-  Operationalization of the CTD's mandate: a proposal to deliver outcomes based on 
the MC8 mandate - proposal from China, Cu ba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
(WT/COMTD/W/192) ......................................................................................................... 5  
-  A proposal that the Committee on Trade and Development reports to the 
General Council on development work in the WTO in compliance with Ministers' request 
issued at MC8 - proposal from Barbados, Be lize, Benin, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho and 
Mauritius (WT/COMTD/W/202) ............................................................................................ 5  
-  Committee on Trade and Development mandate: review of the application of S&D 
provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related Ministerial Decisions in favour 
of developing country Members - proposal from Ecuador (WT/COMTD/W/204) ........................... 5  
(ii) Briefing by the Secretariat on the Post-2015 Development Agenda  .................................. 7  
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE .................................................... 8  
-  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notifica tion of Customs Union – communication 
from China, Egypt and In dia (WT/COMTD/ W/175) ................................................................. 8  
-  Notification of the Agreement on Trad e in Goods between the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea ........................................................................ 10 
-  Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement  between India 
and Korea (Goods) ........................................................................................................... 10 
F. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR 
PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................ 10  WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  G. REVIEW OF THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR PREFERENTIAL TRADE 
ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 11  
-  Statement by th e Chairman ...................................................................................... 11 
H. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE 
MARKET ACCESS TO LEAST- DEVELOPED CO UNTRIES ..................................................... 11  
I. OTHER BUSINESS .................................................................................................. 12  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 
1. The Chairman said that the draft agenda for the 91st Session of the Committee on Trade 
and Development (CTD) was contained in document WTO/AIR/4322 circulated on 18 June 2014. 
He said that he wished to add a matter under "Other Business" concerning the implementation 
reports that were required under paragraph 15 of  the Transparency Mechanism (TM) for Regional 
Trade Agreements (RTAs). 
2. The agenda was adopted as amended. 
B. OBSERVERS 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
3. The Chairman recalled that, at previous sessions of the CTD, Members had agreed to invite 
a number of intergovernmental organizations on an  ad hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis. These were 
the Arab Maghreb Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Economic Community of West African States, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Inter-Arab 
Investment Guarantee Corporation, the Islami c Development Bank, the African Union, the 
Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the South Centre, the Pacific Islands Forum, the United Nations Environment Programme, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and the World 
Intellectual Property Organization. These organiza tions had been invited to the present meeting. 
He proposed that the same organizations be invited to the next formal meeting of the CTD. 
4. It was so agreed. 
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observ er status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Common Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the 
Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Developpement 
5. The Chairman said that the positions of delegations were on the record. He informed the 
Committee, that further to OAPEC's requests in 2005 and again in 2012, the organization had 
submitted another request, dated 6 April 2014, for observer status in the CTD. He indicated that if 
there were no changes in positions to extend observer status to any of the applicants, the Committee would take note and revert to the requests at the next meeting.  
6. It was so agreed.  
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING 
- Implementation of the Technical Assist ance and Training Plan: update by the 
Secretariat on the status of the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund 
7. The Chairman invited the Director of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation 
(ITTC) to provide Members with an update on the implementation of the Technical Assistance and 
Training Plan (TA Plan) and the status of the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund 
(DDAGTF).  WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  8. The Director of the ITTC began by providin g an overview of the implementation of 
technical assistance (TA) activities in 2013. She said in this regard that the WTO had been able to 
maintain the implementation of activities at th e same level as 2012. Close to 14,000 participants 
were trained in 2013, which was an increase of 9% relative to 2012. A total of 45% of the 
participants were women. She also noted that su fficient funds had been available to implement 
activities in 2013. Even though the funds due for 20 13 had been received in the last quarter of the 
year, there had been a significant carryover fr om 2012 of CHF 12.4 million. She informed the 
Committee that the annual report on TA activities undertaken in 2013 would be presented to 
Members at the next CTD meeting.  
9. Moving on to the status of the DDAGTF, she said that the WTO had multi-year agreements 
with a number of donors - Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway - 
which helped to ensure predictability in the fi nancing of TA activities. There was a balance of 
CHF 18 million in the DDAGTF at the start of 2014. As of the end of May, the balance was 
estimated to be CHF 11.8 million, after taking into account expenditures, commitments and 
pending activities. Based on the present implementation rate and taking into account the 
anticipated activities in the coming months, it  was expected that approximately CHF 10 million 
would be spent in 2014, representing an increase of 20% relative to 2012. In the absence of 
additional contributions, this would leave a bala nce of approximately CHF 7 million to be carried 
forward to 2015. This amount would be sufficient to  implement activities in the first half of 2015, 
but contributions would be required in the second half of the year to ensure the full implementation of the planned activities for 2015 that were reflected in the current biennial TA 
Plan. She said that similar information had been pr ovided to Members at the recent meeting of the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. 
10. Noting that some Members had inquired abou t the substantial carryover of funds at the 
end of 2013, she indicated that a few observations would help to explain the situation. She said 
firstly that, in 2013, nearly 70% of contributions ha d arrived in the fourth quarter. Combined with 
the fact that some activities normally foreseen in the last months of the year could not take place 
at the end of 2013 in light of the Ninth Ministeria l Conference (MC9) held in December, the result 
was a substantial carry-over. She also pointed to a number of examples of measures that had been put in place to allow the WTO to provide TA  services at a lower cost. One example was the 
E-Learning strategy, which had reduced the number of face-to-face activities. Other examples 
included the greater emphasis being placed on leveraging partnerships to ensure that 
implementing partners contributed resources, an d the introduction of the Progressive Learning 
Strategy (PLS) to promote better targeting of course content and therefore more efficient 
programming. Certain programmes and activities had been reviewed and redesigned, and the 
implementation of results-based management (RBM) as a management tool had also started to contribute to resource efficiency. In closing, she suggested that it could be relevant going forward 
to review the way budget estimates were prepared for the next biennial TA Plan so as to reduce 
the gap between estimates and actual costs.  
11. The representative of Bangladesh expressed appreciation for the WTO's TA activities and 
the efforts to achieve a gender balance. He noted, however, that the TA provided by the WTO was 
still not sufficient for the needs of least-developed countries (LDCs). An inclusive process was 
required that would allow representatives from LDCs to participate in all the activities. He suggested that measures be put in place to increa se the scope of participation of officials from 
LDCs. 
12. The representative of Nigeria recalled that the DDAGTF had been established to receive 
extra-budgetary contributions from Members for the implementation of TA activities. He noted that 
more funds would be required in the second half of 2015 in order ensure that all planned activities 
were implemented, and called on donors to make the necessary contributions. He also noted that 
a new WTO facility for trade facilitation would be established shortly and in this regard expressed hope that the new facility would not affect contributions to the DDAGTF. 
13. The representative of Uganda, on behalf of the LDC Group, expressed appreciation for the 
WTO's TA activities. He noted that, in the Marrakesh Agreement, Ministers had paid special 
attention to the situation of LDCs and had recogniz ed the need for the provision of TA and capacity 
building.  It was on this basis that Ministers had agreed in paragraph 38 of the Doha Declaration to 
create a framework for TA and capacity building within the WTO so as to improve the participation of the LDCs in the multilateral trading system. The LDCs were pleased to note that, since the WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  launch of the Doha Round, the WTO's TA had grown substantially. He referred to the biennial TA 
Plan, as well as to the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the Standards and Trade Development 
Facility and the WTO Reference Centres. While ac knowledging the priority given to LDCs in the 
delivery of TA, he emphasized that assistance needed to be provided to LDCs on a sustainable 
basis so as to have a lasting impact. The LDCs hoped that the WTO would continue to be flexible in 
the application of the PLS so as to facilitate the participation of officials from LDCs in various training programmes. He also requested that LDCs  be considered as venues for Regional Trade 
Policy Courses (RTPCs), since this would foster long-term institutional capacity and knowledge in 
the host countries.  
14. He went on to say that the WTO's internship programmes had proved particularly useful 
for LDCs. In this light, the LDCs wished to request that the internship programmes fund at least 
one official from each LDC Member every year. Turning to national TA activities, he noted that the 
LDCs' utilization rate remained low. This was due to various reasons, including the costs related to the organization of such events. He urged donors to give positive consideration to this problem 
and earmark funds so as to allow more national activities to be held in LDCs. He also asked the 
Secretariat to take note of this request. Fina lly, he stressed the importance of the Advanced 
Course for LDCs. He indicated that the LDCs wanted at least one such course to be held each year, 
as they would continue to require specialized training in evolving areas of the WTO's work. 
15. The representative of Nepal associated his dele gation with the intervention by Uganda. He 
stressed the importance of the WTO's TA activities for developing countries, and particularly LDCs. 
The LDCs saw the biennial TA Plan as a key docume nt allowing the implementation of TA activities 
in a transparent and predicable manner. He no ted that the successful implementation of all 
planned activities depended on the availability of su fficient funds. In this light, he called on donors 
to provide timely funding for the WTO's TA activities.     
16. The representative of Barbados commended the ITTC for its consultative approach in 
developing the TA Plan, and for its efforts to ensure value for money without sacrificing the quality 
of delivery. She noted with satisfaction the efforts that had been made to enhance the e-learning 
environment and the PLS. Appreciation was expresse d for the recent RTPC that had been held for 
the Caribbean region, and for the opening of some activities for Geneva-based delegates. She also requested that, while continuing with the value-for-money approach, consideration be given to maintain programmes that were of critical importance to small states. In closing, she expressed 
hope that flexibility would continue to be built in to the WTO's TA programmes so as to address 
any identified needs. 
17. The representative of Egypt sought clarification from the ITTC as to whether all 
contributions to the DDAGTF were from extra-budgetary sources. 
18. The Director of the ITTC said that the WTO's TA activities were funded from both the 
regular budget and from the extra-budgetary cont ributions to the DDAGTF. The contributions to 
the DDAGTF came not only from traditional donors, but also from some beneficiaries of TA. More 
than 60% of the WTO's TA activities were funded  from the DDAGTF. She indicated that the ITTC 
would continue to hold informal consultative meetings and that there would continue to be some flexibility in the implementation of TA activities.   
19. The Committee took note of the update provided by the Secretariat and of all 
interventions. 
D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - WORK IN THE COMMITTEE ON THE BASIS OF THE 
CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDING STATEMENT FROM THE EIGHTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
(WT/MIN(11)/11) 
20. The Chairman recalled that, at the Eighth Mi nisterial Conference (MC8), Ministers had, 
inter alia , reaffirmed the positive link between trade and development and called for focused work 
in the CTD. Ministers had called on Members to fully operationalize the mandate of the CTD as a focal point for development work. On the agenda for the present meeting were two submissions containing proposals for work under the MC8 mand ate that had been previously discussed by the 
Committee. One submission - by  China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group - was 
contained in document WT/COMTD/W/192. Another submission - by Barbados, Belize, Benin, WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho and Mauritius - was contained in document WT/COMTD/W/202. In 
addition there was a new proposal by Ecuador, contained in document WT/COMTD/W/204. The three submissions were listed under the first sub-item. After the Committee concluded its discussion under the first sub-item, it would turn to the second sub-item, which concerned a 
briefing by the Secretariat on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. 
(i) Proposals by Members 
- Operationalization of the CTD's mandate: a proposal to deliver outcomes based on the 
MC8 mandate - proposal from China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
(WT/COMTD/W/192) 
- A proposal that the Committee on Trade and Development reports to the 
General Council on development work in the WTO in compliance with Ministers' 
request issued at MC8 - proposal from Ba rbados, Belize, Benin,  Botswana, Kenya, 
Lesotho and Mauritius (WT/COMTD/W/202)
1 
21. The Chairman recalled that, at the 87th Session, the Committee had agreed to one of the 
proposals in document WT/COMTD/W/192. The proposal was for the Secretariat to prepare an 
update to its document on the implementation  of special and differential treatment (S&D) 
provisions in the WTO Agreements and Decisions. The updated Secretariat paper was circulated in 
June 2013 in document WT/COMTD/W/196 and had appeared on the CTD's agenda for a number 
of meetings. With regard to the remaining proposals contained in documents WT/COMTD/W/192 and WT/COMTD/W/202, he said that he had recently held informal consultations with some Members to explore what progress could be made. He believed that the discussions in the informal 
consultations had been constructive. It was his understanding that the proponents of the two 
submissions intended to explore whether they co uld possibly combine their ideas for the CTD to 
report on development work in the WTO, so as to come up with a single proposal on this matter. 
With regard to the other remaining proposal contained in document WT/COMTD/W/192, which was 
for the CTD to make a recommendation for parties to RTAs to submit their notification and information requirements jointly, he said that he had encouraged the proponents of this proposal 
to continue their consultations with Members. He invited the proponents to brief the Committee on 
the status of the remaining proposals in the two submissions. 
22. The representative of Lesotho noted the similarities in the two proposals for the CTD to 
report on development work in the WTO and indicated that consultations were currently taking 
place among Members on these proposals. He hoped to be able to report back to the CTD shortly 
on the outcome of the consultations, after he had discussed the matter with the African Group.    
23. The Committee took note of the interventions. 
- Committee on Trade and Development mandate: review of the application of S&D 
provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related Ministerial Decisions in favour of developing country Members - proposal from Ecuador (WT/COMTD/W/204) 
24. The Chairman invited Ecuador to introduce its proposal contained in document 
WT/COMTD/W/204. 
25. The representative of Ecuador said that the proposal in document WT/COMTD/W/204 had 
initially been made during his delegation's intervention at the 90th Session. The proposal had 
subsequently been circulated as a CTD document  i n  r e s p o n s e  t o  r e q u e s t s  f r o m  M e m b e r s .  T h e  
rationale for the proposal was similar to that of an earlier proposal submitted by Ecuador in June 2012 in document WT/COMTD/W/188. The difference was that, in the new proposal, 
the Secretariat was being asked to regularly update - at least once a year - its document on the 
implementation of S&D provisions in the WTO Agreements and Decisions. He said that S&D was one of the pillars of the multilateral trading sy stem, and had been crucial in ensuring balanced 
negotiations in the Uruguay Round. Furthermore, the CTD had a mandate to review S&D 
provisions, as laid out in paragraph 3 of its terms of reference. He believed that it was important 
                                               
1 The discussion concerning documents WT/C OMTD/W/192 and WT/COMTD/W/202 is presented 
together in this Note, since the Chairman's intervention and the subsequent intervention by Lesotho related to both submissions.   WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  for Members to have up-to-date information on how S&D was being made operational in the WTO. 
The proposed exercise was particularly importan t for developing countries, as it would provide 
information in a holistic manner on trends and de velopments in the implementation of the various 
S&D provisions. 
26. He went on to say that the proposal did not overlap with the Monitoring Mechanism (MM) 
on S&D, which had been established at MC9 by a Ministerial Decision contained in documents 
WT/MIN(13)/45 and WT/L/920. According to paragraph 4 of this Decision, the MM would review all 
aspects of implementation of S&D provisions with a view to facilitating the integration of 
developing and least-developed Members into the multilateral trading system. The purpose of the 
MM was to identify problems relating to the application or substance of specific provisions that posed structural or implementation problems. Its work would be carried out mainly on the basis 
of written inputs or submissions by Members. On the other hand, the Secretariat document 
referred to in Ecuador's proposal was intended to  provide Members with a general overview of the 
application of S&D. In addition to providing information on the implementation of S&D provisions, 
the document could serve as a basis for Members' written inputs or submissions under the MM. 
27. The representative of Egypt expressed support for the proposal. He said that the 
Secretariat paper on the implementation of S&D provisions was a useful guide for Members. 
Regular updates would add value to the CTD's work. 
28. The representative of the European Union appreciated the usefulness of the Secretariat 
document on the implementation of S&D provisions, and the need for the paper to be updated 
periodically. However, she wondered whether ther e would be sufficient developments to warrant 
annual updates to the document. She also observed in this connection that there had not been 
much discussion on the most recent update, whic h had been prepared in 2013. Noting that the 
Secretariat document was detailed and technical in nature, she inquired how Ecuador envisaged 
the document serving as the basis for a general discussion. Finally, she noted that the proposal 
called for the Secretariat document to include an objective and analytical listing of S&D provisions, identifying the measures that had been taken and pu t forward to operationalize them. In this light, 
she asked whether Ecuador was satisfied with the way in which information on the implementation 
of S&D provisions was provided in the curre nt version of the Secretariat paper.   
29. The representative of the United States, referring to the proposed frequency of the 
updates to the Secretariat document, questioned  whether developments warranting an update 
could be reasonably expected on a yearly basis. He also asked for further clarification as to how 
the new proposal by Ecuador differed from the proposal that had been made in 2012. He additionally observed that there appeared to be similarities between the work of the MM and the 
work proposed by Ecuador, in particular since the MM was mandated to review all aspects of 
implementation of S&D provisions. 
30. The representative of Cuba expressed his delegation's support for the proposal. 
31. The representative of Barbados sought confirmation that, in 2013, the Committee had 
agreed to the proposal in document WT/COMTD/W/ 192 for the Secretariat to prepare an update to 
its document on the implementation of S&D provisions. 
32. The Chairman indicated that the last update to the Secretariat document had been 
prepared in 2013. He invited Ecuador to respond to the other questions that had been raised by 
delegations.   
33. The representative of Ecuador said that paragraph 3 of the CTD's terms of reference 
mandated the Committee to periodically review the application of S&D provisions. Although a 
specific timeframe for reviews was not mentioned, Ecuador did not want to see several years go by before another update to the Secretariat document was prepared. His delegation wanted 
discussions on the basis of updated Secretariat documents to take place regularly. He referred 
delegations to Ecuador's introductory intervention for further information, and also indicated that more detailed responses would be provided after he had consulted with his capital. WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  34. The Chairman noted that more detailed resp onses would be provided by Ecuador in due 
course. He encouraged delegations to consult informally with each other on the proposal. 
Discussions would also continue at the next CTD meeting.       
35. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
(ii) Briefing by the Secretariat on the Post-2015 Development Agenda 
36. The Chairman said that it was important for the CTD to be informed of the discussions on 
the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which were taking place at the UN. He believed that a 
briefing by the Secretariat could throw up some ideas which would help in identifying further 
possible areas of work for the CTD under the MC8 mandate. He invited Secretariat representatives from the Development Division and the Trade and Environment Division to brief Members on the 
Post-2015 Development Agenda.  
37. In his presentation, the representative of th e Development Division gave some background 
to the Post-2015 Development Agenda. He said that the UN's Millennium Development Goals 
(MDGs) Summit in 2010 had launched a discussion on what action needed to be taken by the 
international community to build on the MDGs. Follow-up work took place at the Rio+20 
Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, wh ich subsequently led to the creation of an 
Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable De velopment Goals (SDGs). Also in 2012, the UN 
Secretary-General established a Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which was led 
by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and included more than 50 UN agencies. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the WTO were invited to participate. In a report issued in May 2013, a High-level Panel of Emin ent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda 
had provided recommendations to the Secr etary-General. Subsequently, at the 2013 
General Assembly, a High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was established to monitor the transition from the MDGs to the SDGs. National, regional and global thematic 
consultations had since been held, led by the UN Development Group. He gave examples of 
several UN processes and outcomes that would feed into the 2015 General Assembly, where the SDGs would be launched. These included the outcom es of the Fourth UN Conference on LDCs, the 
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, the Second UN Conference on 
Landlocked Developing Countries, and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. 
38. The presentation by the representative of the Trade and Environment Division provided 
information on the process to develop the SDGs, and on the trade components of the SDGs. She 
recalled that, at the Rio+20 Conference, the import ance and utility of a set of SDGs had been 
recognized. Some functions and criteria of the SD Gs had also been laid out. She identified two 
phases in the development of the SDGs after the Rio+20 Conference. The first phase, which 
started with the establishment of the OWG in January 2013 and which was completed in 
February 2014, was concerned with a stock-taki ng exercise. The second phase focused on the 
preparation of a report. With regard to the report, she said that a revision to the "zero draft" had 
been circulated on 30 June 2014. The revision contained 17 proposed goals and 150 targets. The draft trade text could be found under proposed go al 17, which related to strengthening the means 
of implementation and the global partnership for sustainable development. There were three 
targets under this proposed goal. The first target was to promote a universal, rules-based, open, 
non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system. The second target was concerned with improving market access for the exports of developing countries, while the third called for the 
timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access on a lasting basis for all 
LDCs. She added that some trade-related targets could be found under other proposed goals as well. In concluding, she informed Members that the intention was for the report to be finalized and 
submitted to the General Assembly by September. 
39. The representative of Argentina indicated his delegation's interest in studying in more 
detail the Secretariat presentation. Clarification was sought by the representatives of South Africa 
and Uganda as to the role of the WTO in the process that had been outlined.     
40. The representative of the Development Division  said that the UN had invited the WTO to 
participate in the SDGs process from the outset. The role of the WTO was to help show how trade 
could contribute to achieving the SDGs. However, it was ultimately for the UN member states to WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  determine how they wished to frame the SDGs. He indicated that delegations that wished to know 
more about the process could contact the Secretariat.   
41. The Committee took note of the briefing by th e Secretariat and of all interventions.    
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE 
42. The Chairman said that he wished to provide Members with a brief update on the RTAs 
notified under the Enabling Clause that were to be considered in the CTD's Dedicated Sessions on 
RTAs. With regard to the Agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
and India, he informed the Committee that the Secretariat had sent the draft factual presentation 
to the parties. Comments had been received from India, but the Secretariat was still waiting to receive comments from ASEAN. The draft factual presentation on the accession of Rwanda and Burundi to the East African Community had also been sent to the parties, and the Secretariat was 
still waiting to receive comments.    
43. For a number of other RTAs - namely, RTAs between India and Nepal, India and 
Afghanistan, India and Bhutan, and Cuba and El Salv ador - the full set of data needed to complete 
the factual presentations had not been submitted by the parties. He urged the parties to these 
agreements to provide the data as soon as possible. He went on to say that there remained one RTA notified under the Enabling Clause that had not been ratified by all the parties. This was the 
Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA).  Following the procedures of the Committee on 
Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), a factual presentation of an RTA falling in this category would only be drafted after the agreement had been ratifi ed by all the parties. The parties to PICTA were 
urged to inform the Secretariat as soon as all ratifications were complete. 
44. The Committee took note of the Chairman's update. 
45. Turning to the three listed sub-items under the present agenda item, the Chairman said 
that the sub-items had been appearing on the CTD' s agenda for several years, and divergent views 
had been expressed on the way forward. He informed the Committee that he had held some 
informal consultations with a number of delegations, including on an individual basis, on the issues 
surrounding the three listed sub-items. While these consultations had helped him to better 
understand Members' positions, it was clear that further discussions - particularly among the 
concerned delegations - would be necessary before a solution could be found. In this light, he encouraged delegations to reach out to each other and discuss the matter with a view to finding a solution. He also indicated that he would continue his informal consultations with Members.  
- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notification of Customs Union – communication from 
China, Egypt and India (WT/COMTD/W/175) 
46. The Chairman said that the first sub-item under the present agenda item concerned the 
GCC Customs Union notification. The sub-item also referred to the communication from China, 
Egypt and India which was circulat ed in document WT/COMTD/W/175. 
47. The representative of the United States indicated that his delegation's view on this matter 
was well-known. The present sub-item had fulfill ed its purpose of informing Members of the 
notification made, and needed to be removed from the agenda. 
48. He said that there was a divergence of views as to whether the GCC Customs Union was a 
case of a dual notification. His delegation believed that the GCC Customs Union issue was not an 
issue of dual notification, and was therefore different from the discussion relating to the 
ASEAN-Korea Agreement and the India-Korea Agreem ent. The US remained of the view that the 
GCC Customs Union had been incorrectly notified under the Enabling Clause. This was 
subsequently corrected, and the understanding of his delegation was that the GCC Customs Union 
was in the pipeline to be considered in the CRTA in line with the procedures of the RTAs TM. The 
US considered this issue closed and continued to request that the present sub-item be removed 
from the CTD's agenda, as it had served its pu rpose. Turning to document WT/COMTD/W/175, he 
said that his delegation had not seen any specific issues relating to the GCC Customs Union. Rather, the paper appeared to be seeking a systemic discussion on RTAs, which was a discussion that was outside the scope of the CTD and belonged  in the Negotiating Group on Rules (NGR). He WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  indicated that the US was not open to a CTD process to discuss systemic issues concerning RTAs. 
The question of when the NGR would meet to di scuss RTA issues was separate and distinct from 
the question of whether it had jurisdiction on this matter, which the US believed it did. He also indicated that the first three sub-items had fulf illed their purpose of informing Members of the 
notifications made, and these sub-items were distinct from the systemic discussion that some 
delegations wanted to have. The US did not believe that the CTD was the appropriate forum for a discussion on a systemic issue that cut across Committees.
2 
49. The representative of Egypt believed that Members could only deal with the matter by 
beginning a discussion on the systemic concerns th at had been raised by China, Egypt and India, 
or otherwise by considering the GCC Customs Union in the CTD. The present sub-item, as well as the second and third sub-items under this agenda  item, needed to be maintained on the CTD's 
agenda until a solution was found. 
50. The representative of the United States said that any discussion on systemic concerns 
would affect not only the CTD, but also the CRTA. In  this light, the view of his delegation was that 
the NGR was the proper venue for a discussion of systemic issues. He also reiterated his 
delegation's view that the GCC Customs Union ha d been incorrectly notified under the Enabling 
Clause. This was subsequently corrected, and the understanding of his delegation was that the 
GCC Customs Union was in the pipeline to be considered in the CRTA in line with the procedures of 
the RTAs TM.   
51. The representative of India indicated that his intervention related to the first three 
sub-items under the present agenda item. He stress ed the importance of addressing the systemic 
and specific issues arising from the three RTAs notified under both the Enabling Clause and GATT 
Article XXIV, and in this regard pointed to the initiative taken by China, Egypt and India in their communication circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/175. He went on to say that his delegation 
had noted a concerted effort to dilute and undermine the Enabling Clause - not only in 
deliberations in the CTD, but also in the CRTA, th e NGR and other WTO bodies. Such efforts to chip 
away at the Enabling Clause were not new. In the context of RTA notifications, it dated back to 
2002, when India and Sri Lanka had notified th eir bilateral free trade agreement under the 
Enabling Clause. During the consideration process in the CTD, a developed country Member had questioned whether the notification was to be ma de to the CTD or the CRTA, even though both 
India and Sri Lanka were developing countries and had a prerogative to notify their RTA under the 
Enabling Clause. He expressed his delegation's concern that a similar position was once again 
being taken by some Members, which questioned the notification of the GCC Customs Union under the Enabling Clause and stated that it had been incorrectly notified. He also stressed the urgency 
of addressing the issues relating to the three "dually  notified" RTAs as soon as possible. In closing, 
he expressed support for the intervention by Egyp t, and requested that the three sub-items under 
the present agenda item be retained on the agenda for the next CTD meeting.     
52. The representative of China expressed support  for the interventions by Egypt and India. 
He encouraged the Chairman to cond uct further informal consultations. 
53. The representative of the European Union said her delegation wished to see the removal 
from the CTD's agenda of the three sub-items reflected under this agenda item, as they had 
served the purpose of informing Members of notifi cations made. She agreed that there was a need 
to clarify the issues surrounding the three RTAs no tified simultaneously under the Enabling Clause 
and GATT Article XXIV and to find a solution. However, the view of her delegation was that the 
proper forum for a discussion on systemic issues was the NGR. Furthermore, her delegation 
perceived a difference between the issues surrounding the GCC Customs Union, and those relating to the ASEAN-Korea Agreement and the India-Korea Agreement. That being said, the EU wished to 
find a pragmatic solution that would allow the three sub-items to be removed from the CTD's 
agenda. Her delegation was therefore willing to engage in bilateral consultations with other delegations, as well as in any consultations called by the Chairman. 
54. The representative of Egypt noted that the US  representative had mentioned several times 
that the GCC Customs Union was in the pipeline to be considered in the CRTA. This was of great 
concern to his delegation. He did not see how the CRTA could consider the GCC Customs Union 
                                               
2 The points in this paragraph, made by the US at the 90th Session, are reflected in the minutes of this 
meeting at the request of the US delegation. WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  when questions were still being raised by some Members in the CTD. While he wished to have 
clarification, he indicated that he was not seeking clarification from any specific delegation, or from the Secretariat. Rather, he was bringing this matter to the attention of the Chairman. He went on to say that the Enabling Clause did not make any specifications concerning the level of trade 
liberalization and cautioned against interpretations that undermined the rights of developing 
countries in the WTO. 
55. The representative of the United States said that he wished to clarify the US' 
understanding that the GCC Customs Union had been correctly notified under GATT Article XXIV. 
This would set in motion the process for a consideration in the CRTA. He also reiterated the US' view that the GCC Customs Union was not a case of dual notification and expressed his disagreement with the observation made in India's intervention that some Members were trying to 
dilute and undermine the Enabling Clause. He explained that, while the US had no quarrel with any 
developing country notifying a qualifying agreement under the Enabling Clause, not all RTAs qualified under the Enabling Clause. To maintain otherwise would make a mockery of the Enabling 
Clause and basic statutory interpretation. 
56. The Chairman reiterated his intention to continue his informal consultations with Members 
on this matter.  
57. The Committee took note of all interventions.   
- Notification of the Agreement on Trade in  Goods between the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea 
- Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement  between India 
and Korea (Goods)3 
58. The Chairman said that the second sub-item under the present agenda item concerned the 
notification of the ASEAN-Korea Agreement. The th ird sub-item concerned the notification of the 
India-Korea Agreement. 
59. The representative of Korea said that his country had consistently notified its RTAs under 
GATT Article XXIV. He observed that all RTAs, even RTAs between developing countries, could be 
notified under this provision. Korea's RTAs we re comprehensive agreements, which were more 
appropriately notified under GATT Article XXIV. While noting that some delegations had raised concerns with "dually notified" RTAs, he called for a solution to be found as soon as possible. He indicated Korea's willingness to work with Members in this regard. 
60. The representative of the United States said that his delegation continued to have 
concerns with the sub-items addressing the ASE AN-Korea and the India-Korea Agreements being 
listed on the CTD's agenda. These sub-items had fulfilled their purpose of informing Members of 
the notifications made, and needed to be removed from the agenda. The issue of dual notifications 
was directly linked to the functioning of th e RTAs TM and went beyond just the CTD. 
61.   The Committee took note  of all interventions. 
F. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR PREFERENTIAL 
TRADE ARRANGEMENTS 
62. The Chairman said that he wished to provide Members with a brief update on the 
preferential trade arrangements (PTAs) that we re to be considered in the CTD's Dedicated 
Sessions on PTAs. He firstly info rmed the Committee that Chile had notified its DFQF scheme for 
LDCs on 10 April 2014 in document WT/COMTD/N/44. Chile had also subsequently circulated in document WT/COMTD/N/44/Add.1 the Certificate of Origin concerning the DFQF scheme. The 
Secretariat was currently in touch with Chile with regard to the information it required for the 
                                               
3 The discussion under the second and third sub-items is presented together in this Note, as the 
interventions made by delegations appl ied to both sub-items. Although the intervention by Korea was delivered 
during the discussion under the firs t sub-item, the delegation of Kore a subsequently indicated that the 
intervention referred to the second an d third sub-items and therefore requeste d that it be reflected accordingly 
in the minutes of the meeting.     WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  preparation of the factual presentation on the scheme. He went on to say that, with regard to four 
other PTAs that had been notified since the establishment of the TM for PTAs - PTAs being implemented by China, India, the Russian Federa tion and Chinese Taipei - there had been no 
significant developments since his last update.  In particular, the full set of data required for the 
preparation of the factual presentations of the four PTAs had not yet been provided to the 
Secretariat. He urged the notifying Members to provide the data as soon as possible. 
63. The Committee took note of the Chairman's update.  
G. REVIEW OF THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR PREFERENTIAL TRADE 
ARRANGEMENTS 
- Statement by the Chairman 
64. The Chairman said that the TM for PTAs was being implemented by the CTD, as per the 
provisions contained in document WT/L/806, which was the General Council Decision of 
14 December 2010 which established the Mechanism. He recalled that, at the 90th Session, he had 
brought to Members' attention paragraph 26 of the TM for PTAs, which indicated that the 
Mechanism would apply on a provisional basis until Members approved its permanent application. 
The paragraph also indicated that Members would review the Mechanism after three years and if necessary modify the Mechanism in light of the ex perience gained from its provisional operation. 
He went on to say that three years had elapsed since the General Council Decision which 
established the PTAs TM. Members would, therefore, need to consider the question of the review of the Mechanism. Whether enough experience had been gained yet to conduct a review would also be for Members to determine. He informed the Committee that he intended to hold informal 
consultations to hear views concerning the timing and the nature of a review of the PTAs TM.     
65. The Committee took note of the Chairman's statement.  
H. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE MARKET 
ACCESS TO LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
66. The Chairman said that an item concerning DFQF market access for LDCs had been on the 
CTD's agenda since early 2006. Under this item, delegations had provided information on the steps 
they were taking, or had already taken, to provide DFQF market access to LDCs. Written 
communications by some Members had also been considered.   
67. The representative of the United States said that the US was carefully considering how to 
be responsive to the Ministerial Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs that was taken at MC9. 
He noted that the Decision had only recently been taken, and in this light indicated that efforts by 
the US would take some time.  
68. The representative of Uganda, on behalf of th e LDC Group, expressed appreciation to Chile 
for its recently notified DFQF scheme. The understanding of the LDCs was that the scheme was 
comprehensive and covered more than 97% of tariff lines. The LDCs commended those Members that had already attained the 97% mark and encouraged others to do so as well. It was important 
for preference-granting countries to fulfill the no tification requirements and make available the 
utilization rates in their DFQF schemes. The LDCs had taken note of the notifications made by various developed and developing countries and encouraged Members to provide DFQF market access for all products originating from LDCs in a manner that ensured stability, security and 
predictability. It was essential that developed countries ensured that products of commercial 
interest to LDCs were effectively included in their schemes. He also noted that Chile had circulated a communication on the rules of origin requirem ents and expressed hope that the requirements 
would be simple in order to facilitate LDCs' export s. He stressed the importance of rules of origin 
in DFQF schemes and called on Members to make their rules of origin transparent, simple and objective, in line with the guidelines agreed to by Ministers at MC9. 
69. The representative of Chile said that Chile's DFQF scheme, notified in document 
WT/COMTD/N/44, applied to all LDCs designated as such by the UN. Under the scheme, the 
customs duties on imports of all goods originatin g from LDCs - excluding imports of wheat, wheat 
flour and sugar - were set to zero. He highligh ted his delegation's support for the development WT/COMTD/M/91 
 
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  dimension of the multilateral trading system and noted that Chile's scheme responded to the 
Ministerial Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs that was taken at MC9. He informed the Committee that the Certificate of Origin relating to the DFQF scheme - circulated in document WT/COMTD/N/44/Add.1 - needed to be certified by the competent authority in the beneficiary 
country. In this regard, he invited LDCs to submit information on their certifying authorities as 
soon as possible, so as to be able to benefi t from preferential treatment under the scheme. 
70. The representative of Bangladesh called on Members to implement the Decision contained 
in Annex F of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declar ation. He expressed appreciation for Chile's 
notification of its DFQF scheme and stressed the importance of notifications at the tariff line level.      
71. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
I. OTHER BUSINESS 
72. The Chairman said that he wished to raise a matter under "Other Business" concerning the 
implementation reports that were required under paragraph 15 of the TM for RTAs. He informed 
the Committee that, according to this paragraph, at  the end of the implementation period of an 
RTA, the parties were to submit to the WTO a short, written report on the realization of the 
liberalization commitments in the RTA as originally notified. He understood that a discussion on the issue of implementation reports had been taking place in the CRTA, and a list had been circulated 
in document WT/REG/W/82 of RTAs notified under GATT Article XXIV and GATS Article V that were 
subject to implementation reports.  
73. From a practical point of view, he believed that it was in Members' interests to continue to 
maintain similar procedures between the CRTA and the CTD when it came to implementing the TM 
for RTAs. In this light, he said that he had requested the Secretariat to prepare an updated list of 
RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause that were  subject to implementation reports. He invited 
Members to consult the list, which would be circulated as a CTD document, and inform the 
Secretariat of any inaccuracies. He also called on Members to submit the required implementation 
reports. For some possible guidance on format , he referred Members to document JOB/REG/5 - 
which contained a mock report on the EU-Chile Agreement that would shortly be circulated in the 
CRTA as a formal report - as well as documents JOB/REG/1 and JOB/REG/4 that had been 
circulated by the Secretariat. He noted, however, that since the purpose of the implementation reports was to increase transparency on each Agreement's implementation, form was less important than substance. Therefore, as would be  the case in the CRTA, he called on Members to 
submit the reports to the CTD in the format that they saw fit. 
74. The meeting was adjourned. 
 
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