WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1  
 
2 July 2013  
(13-3440) Page: 1/5  
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries    
 
  
WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)  
ADOPTED BY THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ON 28 JUNE 20131 
 
1. Paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration2 instructs the Sub-Committee for 
Least-Developed Countries (hereafter the Sub-Committee) to report on an agreed Work 
Programme to the General Council at its first meeting in 2002.  
2. The Doha Ministerial Declaration reaffirmed the commitments undertaken at the Third 
United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-III) and agreed that the WTO should take account, in designing this Work Programme, the trade-related elements of the 
Brussels Declaration and Programme of Action, co nsistent with the WTO’s mandate. Accordingly, 
the Work Programme below was agreed to by the Sub-Committee on 12 February 2002. 
3. In the spirit of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Work Programme should take into 
account the trade-related elements of the Istanbul Declaration and the Istanbul Programme of 
Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2011-2 020, consistent with the WTO's mandate. 
4. It is most important that the results of the Sub-Committee’s work continue to reflect and 
promote the interests of the LDCs. Their broad and effective participation in the Sub-Committee’s 
deliberations is particularly necessary in the design, update and accomplishment of the Work Programme. To allow for the maximum possible pa rticipation of Non-Resident LDC Members and 
Observers, particularly when items of direct co ncern to them – such as accession – are on the 
agenda, meetings of the Sub-Committee will, where possible, be scheduled to coincide with 
Geneva Week. In view of the limited capacity of LDC delegations, the Work Programme will focus on areas where it can add value, and shall avoi d duplication with the Work Programmes of other 
WTO Bodies. 
5. The Doha Ministerial Declaration explicitly recognized the particular needs, interests and 
concerns of LDCs in 21 different paragraphs.
3 These references fall into two broad categories. They 
touch on broad, systemic issues and they form pa rt of the negotiating mandate of particular WTO 
Bodies.  
6. Taking into account the above commitments, the WTO Work Programme for LDCs shall focus 
on the following systemic issues: 
a. Market Access for LDCs;  
b. Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for LDCs; 
c. Providing, as appropriate, support to agencies assisting with the diversification of LDCs’ 
production and export base; 
                                               
1 This document is a revision of the Work Pr ogramme adopted by the Sub-Committee on LDCs on 
12 February 2002, contained in document WT/COMTD/LDC/11. 
2 WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1, 20 November 2001.  The Ministerial Declaration was adopted on 
14 November 2001.   
3 These are paragraphs 2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 21-22, 24-25, 26, 27, 28, 32-33, 36, 38-39, 42-43, 44 and 50.  WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1 
 
- 2 - 
 
  d. Mainstreaming, as appropriate, into the WT O’s work the trade-related elements of the 
Istanbul Programme of Action adopted by the UN LDC-IV Conference, as relevant to the 
WTO’s mandate; 
e. Participation of LDCs in the Multilateral Trading System;  
f. Accession of LDCs to the WTO; and 
g. Follow-up to WTO Ministerial Decisions/Declarations. 
a. Market Access for LDCs  
7. In paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, WTO Members committed themselves 
"to the objective of duty-free, quota-free market access for products originating from LDCs" and "to consider additional measures for progressi ve improvements in market access for LDCs". 
8. The Work Programme shall therefore include:  
i. identification and examination of market access barriers, including tariff and 
non-tariff barriers for the entry of LDCs' products into markets of interest to them;  
ii. annual reviews in the Sub-Committee
4, of market access improvements, of any 
market access measures undertaken by Members, and including the identification of 
reported market access barriers to LDCs’ products in markets of interest to them. These reports will be on the basis of factual annual studies by the WTO Secretariat; 
and 
iii. examination of possible additional meas ures for progressive and predictable 
improvements in market access, in particular the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to export products from LDCs and further improvement of preferential 
access schemes such as the GSP schemes. 
9. Reports on this work will be submitted annually to the Committee on Trade and 
Development. These reports will be designed to highlight LDC concerns in the context of 
negotiations taking place in other bodies of the WTO, but in full recognition of the integrity of the 
mandates of those bodies. 
b. Trade-Related Technical Assistance an d Capacity-Building Initiatives for LDCs 
10. WTO Members established a firm understan ding on the important role of technical 
cooperation and capacity building in paragraph 2 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. They undertook specific commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in 11 operative paragraphs of the Declaration.
5 In the 11 different operative paragraphs as well as in the New 
Strategy for WTO Technical Cooperation: Technica l Cooperation for Capacity Building, Growth and 
Integration6, it is agreed that priority shall be accorded, in particular, to the LDCs. Paragraph 43 of 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration endorsed the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical 
Assistance as a viable model for LDCs' trade development and urged development partners to 
significantly increase their contributions to the IF Trust Fund. Ministers also urged core IF agencies, in coordination with development pa rtners, to explore IF enhancement, with the 
objective of addressing LDCs' supply-side constraint s, and extending the IF to all LDCs. A review of 
the IF was undertaken by a Task Force in 2006, and based on the recommendations of the Task 
Force to enhance the IF, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) became operational in July 2009. 
11. In accordance with this mandate, the Sub-Committee, shall monitor and make 
recommendations, as appropriate, on:  
                                               
4 See paragraph 34 of WT/COMTD/LDC/M/25 for the reporting procedures of notifications of market 
access measures specifically in favour of LDCs. 
5 Paragraphs 16, 21, 24, 26, 27, 33, 38-40, 42 and 43.   
6 Endorsed by Ministers in paragraph 38 of  the Doha Ministerial Declaration.   WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1 
 
- 3 - 
 
  i. the implementation of the EIF7; 
ii. trade-related technical assistance and capacity building for LDCs undertaken by 
Geneva-based organizations, other organizations and bilateral donors, to promote information flow and coordination, consistency of approach, and 
prioritising/sequencing in support of LDCs' development strategies. This will include 
support provided for the diversification of LDCs' production and export base; and 
iii. technical assistance support to LDCs, includ ing in areas of agreed negotiations at 
Doha.  
12. The results of the monitoring and review process by the Sub-Committee shall be reported 
each year, to the Committee on Trade and Developmen t, and shall constitute an integral part of 
this Work Programme.  
c. Providing, as appropriate, support to ag encies assisting with the diversification of 
LDCs' production and export base 
13. In paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declar ation, Ministers recognize that the integration 
of the LDCs into the multilateral trading system requires support for the diversification of their 
production and export base. Accordingly, the Sub-Committee shall consider proposals within the mandate of WTO for technical assistance and capacity-building programmes relevant to the 
diversification of their production and export base , and shall support the work of other Agencies in 
this regard. 
d. Mainstreaming, as appropriate, into WTO' s work the trade-related  elements of the 
Istanbul Programme of Action adopted by the UN LDC-IV Conference, as relevant 
to the WTO's mandate 
14. Paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration calls upon the WTO, in designing its Work 
Programme for LDCs, to take into account the trade-related elements of the Brussels Declaration 
and Programme of Action, consistent with the WTO’s mandate. At the Eighth WTO Ministerial 
Conference, Ministers welcomed the Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2011-2020.  Paragraph 153 of the Istanbul Programme of Action calls on multilateral institutions 
to contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Action and to integrate it into their Work 
Programmes, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates. The Sub-Committee shall accordingly consider possibl e means of implementing these elements and 
monitor, review and report annually to the Committee on Trade and Development. 
e. Participation of LDCs in the Multilateral Trading System  
15. In paragraph 3 of the Doha Ministerial Declar ation, WTO Ministers recognized the particular 
vulnerability and structural difficulties of LDCs in the global economy. They committed themselves 
to address "the marginalization of least-developed  countries in international trade and to improve 
their effective participation in the multilateral trading system". Ministers also agreed at Doha that "the meaningful integration of LDCs into the tr ading system and the global economy will involve 
efforts by all WTO Members". In paragraph 47 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, Ministers 
reaffirmed their commitment to effectively and me aningfully integrate LDCs into the multilateral 
trading system. 
16. In accordance with this mandate to enhance th e participation of the LDCs in the multilateral 
trading system and the global economy, the Sub-Committee shall:  
annually review and consider recommendations , as appropriate, on the item entitled: 
Enhancing the Participation of LDCs in the Multilateral Trading System and the Global 
Economy . The basis for this review shall include:  
i. the negotiating agenda of the LDCs in  the context of the Doha Ministerial 
Declarations and Decisions;   
                                               
7 The governing bodies of the EIF are the EIF Board and the EIF Steering Committee. WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1 
 
- 4 - 
 
  ii. Initiatives in favour of Non-Residents;  
iii. Information Technology support;    
iv. implementation of the EIF; 
v. participation of developing countries, especially LDCs, in international standard 
setting bodies; and 
vi. LDCs' Trade Policy Reviews.  
17. The results of the review process by the Sub-Committee shall be reported each year to the 
Committee on Trade and Development to ensure that the Committee can take full account of the 
conclusions reached in the Sub-Committee. 
f. Accession of LDCs to the WTO  18. In paragraph 9 of the Doha Ministerial Decl aration, Ministers stated the importance they 
attached to concluding accession proceedings, part icularly those of LDCs, "as quickly as possible". 
In paragraph 42, Ministers agreed to work to faci litate and accelerate accession negotiations with 
acceding LDCs and instructed the WTO Secretariat to reflect the priority attached by Members to 
LDCs' accessions in the WTO Secretariat-Wide Biennial Plans for Technical Assistance. Members 
underline the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity building to help acceding LDCs to complete their accession process, implement their commitments and to integrate them into the 
multilateral trading system. 
19. The importance of LDCs' accessions was reco gnized in the LDC-III as well as the LDC-IV 
Programmes of Action. The LDC Accession Guidelines adopted by the General Council in 2002 and 2012, contained in WT/L/508 and WT/L/508/Add.1, respectively, continue to provide a useful basis 
for LDCs' accessions. Progress on the issue of the accession of LDCs is important for the 
preservation of confidence in the WTO and in the multilateral trading system.   
20. In the implementation of these Ministerial mandates:  
i. accession shall be an item on the agenda of the Sub-Committee, ideally to coincide 
with Geneva Week so as to benefit from the contributions of acceding LDCs which are not resident in Geneva; 
ii. the Chairpersons of LDCs' Accession Workin g Parties and the acceding LDCs shall be 
invited to brief the Sub-Committee on progress made by the Working Parties in fulfilment of the Ministerial mandate; 
iii. the Chairman of the Sub-Committee shall report to the General Council with concrete 
recommendations, as appropriate, and as agreed in the Sub-Committee, on the 
implementation of the commitment by Ministers to "facilitate and accelerate negotiations with acceding LDCs";  
iv. the WTO Secretariat shall prepare a report on the outcome of technical assistance 
activities in support of LDCs' accession, including the implementation of accession commitments by LDCs, which are to be accorded priority in the Biennial WTO 
Secretariat-Wide Plan for Technical Assistance. The Report shall be examined by the 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries; and 
v. in line with paragraph 15 of the 2012 LDC Accession Guidelines, the Director 
General's annual reports on the state of play of accessions to the WTO shall continue 
to give particular attention to LDC accessions. 
g. Follow-up to WTO Ministerial Decisions/Declarations 21. In paragraph 3 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, WTO Ministers recalled the commitments 
made to help LDCs secure beneficial and meaningful integration into the multilateral trading WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1 
 
- 5 - 
 
  system at the Ministerial meetings in Marrakesh, Singapore and Geneva, and by the international 
community at the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-III) in Brussels. Ministers expressed their determination that the WTO will play its part in building effectively on 
these commitments under the Work Programme being established. 
22. In October 1997, the WTO organized the High -Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for 
LDCs.  
23. The Sub-Committee  shall:  
i. establish an item on its agenda entitled: "Follow-up to Ministerial 
Decisions/Declarations" where Members will be invited to report on measures taken in fulfilment of these Decisions and Declarations (High-Level Meeting; Brussels Conference; Istanbul Conference; WTO Ministerial Declarations and Decisions); 
ii. put all due emphasis on the priority areas for LDCs in WTO negotiations throughout 
its work; and 
iii. report on technical assistance in support of  LDCs as outlined in paragraph 10 above. 
24. All the above items shall be standing it ems on the agenda of the Sub-Committee on 
Least-Developed Countries.  
25. The Work Programme shall be reviewed periodical ly with a view to keeping it up to date. In 
this regard, due account shall be  taken of proposals from LDCs. 
 
 
__________