WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
19 December 2012 
 (12-6973) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Sixty-Seventh Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 10 OCTOBER 2012 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Steffen Smidt (Denmark) 
  
A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ......................................................................................................... 1  
B.  MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  ................................................................ 1  
-  Market Access for Products and Services of Export Interest to Least-Developed 
Countries (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/56) .......................................................................................... 1  
C.  TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY -BUILDING INITIATIVES FOR 
LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  ................................................................................................... 9  
-  An Update on the Enhanced Integrated Framework (JOB/DEV/21) - Report by the 
EIF Executive Secretariat ..................................................................................................... ...... 9 
-  Overview of Progress in the Standards  and Trade Development Facility (STDF) 
(JOB/STDF/1):  Briefing by  the STDF Secretariat ................................................................... 11  
D.  UPDATE OF THE WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD /LDC/11) ................................................................................................................. 12  
E.  OTHER BUSINESS  ....................................................................................................................... 13  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The representative of Haiti indicated that, unde r other business, he would make a report on 
the Retreat that the LDC Group would hold later in October 2012. 
2. The Sub-Committee adopted the draft agenda contained in WTO/AIR/4007. 
B. MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
- Market Access for Products and Services of Expor t Interest to Least-Developed Countries 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/56) 
3. The Chairman recalled that according to th e Work Programme for the Least-Developed 
Countries, the Secretariat had been preparing a docum ent every year to facilitate the annual review of 
market access for products originating from Least -Developed Countries (LDCs).  The latest market 
access review by the Secretariat was contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/56. 
4. The representative of the Secretariat (Developme nt Division) said that the Note was the 
product of a joint effort by the Development Di vision and the Economic Research and Statistics 
Division.  He said that the macro situation of LD Cs in world trade exhibited both positive as well as 
worrying trends.  As regards the positive trends, LDC export growth had been robust over the past 
two years, their trade balance had improved, and their share of world merchandise trade had increased WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 2  
 
  to 1.15% in 2011, up from 1.10% in 2010 and a mere 0.5% a few years ago.  However, LDCs' share 
in services trade had been static, pointing to the need to help them increase their services exports.  He 
hoped that with the services waiver in place, opportun ities for LDCs to increase their participation in 
services trade would increase in the coming years.  He pointed out that the composition and the 
direction of LDC exports had not changed significa ntly over the last years;  the LDCs remained 
predominantly exporters of primary commodities, and market destinations had not diversified to the 
extent desired.  
5. He went on to say that as in previous years, the Note provided an overview of the kind of 
duty-free access LDC exports received in their key e xport markets.  The Note tracked improvements 
made by both developed as well as developing coun tries to their market access conditions for LDC 
exports.  He acknowledged the recent notifications made by developing countries including China, 
India, Korea, and Chinese Taipei, together with notif ication by the US of the results of its 2009-2010 
GSP review and Switzerland's notification of the impr ovements to its GSP rules of origin.  The Note 
also included tables containing duty-free tariff line coverage as well as value of duty-free imports from LDCs by developed and developi ng country markets.  He invite d Members' attention to Annex 
Table 6 of the Note which provided information on multilateral non-reciprocal preference schemes 
undertaken in favour of LDCs.  The Table would allo w Members to retrieve details of preferential 
schemes related to the LDCs.   
6. In conclusion, he said that market access conditions faced by LDC exports had improved 
across the board since the previous years, albeit ma rginally in some markets.  Duties in developed 
countries persisted only on a few products and only in one or two markets.  Market access 
opportunities in developing countries had also been in creasing.  He indicated that the Note could be 
kept on the agenda of the Sub-Committee, as had been done previously, in case Members wished to 
raise issues at a later date.   
7. The representative of the Secretariat (Economic Research and Statistics Division) elaborated 
on various chapters of the Note.  He said that th e Note provided informati on on recent trends in LDC 
merchandise as well as services trade.  It exam ined the product composition of LDC exports, the 
export destinations for these products, the developmen ts in prices of primary commodities, the trade 
balance situation of LDCs and market access cond itions faced in LDCs' export markets.  He added 
that recent market initiatives taken by Members in favour of LDCs had also been included in the 
Note.   
8. He went on to provide a detailed description of  the report's key findings, which were based on 
data that combined national sources, UN Comtrade database and mirror statistics.  He said that world 
exports of goods and commercial services stood at US$22,270 billion in 2011, out of which 
US$230 billion were accounted for by the LDCs.  As a result, the share of LD Cs in world trade was 
1.03%, up from 0.53% in 2000.  This implied that the LDCs had nearly doubled their share in world exports in the last 11 years.  He pointed out that the major reason behind this acceleration was the 
commodity boom during 2002-2008, when commodi ty prices had increased on average by 21% per 
year while exports of primary commodities had incr eased annually by 34%.  On the other hand, the 
share of LDCs in world commercial services trade had remained static at 0.5%. 
9. He continued by saying that due to the economic  crisis the LDCs had experienced a loss of 
their export revenues which had led to a record trad e deficit of US$26 billion in 2009.  However, that 
deficit had narrowed down in 2010 and 2011, with the figure reaching US$3.3 billion in 2011.  The 
LDC exports had been strongly influenced by the de velopments in commodity prices.  The prices of 
energy and other minerals had been rapidly in creasing since 2003, and had peaked in 2007-2008 
before experiencing a sharp downfall in 2008;  howe ver, their prices had started to recover in 2010 
and had surpassed the pre-crisis level.  He noted that the prices of agricultural products were less 
volatile during the crisis period.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
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  10. He said that the pattern of demand from em erging economies and rising commodity prices 
had led to a shrinking share of manufactured produc ts in total exports of LDCs from 32% in 2000 to 
20% in 2011.  The share of agricultural products ha d also declined from 17% in 2000 to 10% in 2011.  
On the other hand, the share of fuels and mining pr oducts had increased from 42% in 2000 to 63% in 
2011.  All in all, the share of primary commoditi es in total LDC merchandise exports had increased 
from 58% in 2000 to 73% in 2011.   
11. He pointed out that market destinations of LDCs had undergone a significant change over the 
last decade.  In the last 11 years, LDC exports to developing economies had increased seven-fold.  
South-South trade which accounted for 40% of LD Cs' total exports in 2000 had gone up to 52% in 
2011.  This growing share of developing economies in LDC trade was attributable mainly to China 
whose share in total exports of LDCs increased fro m 9% in 2000 to 22% in 2011.  In contrast, the 
share of developed countries as des tination markets for products orig inating from LDCs declined from 
53% in 2000 to 41% in 2011.  Out of the top five destination markets of LDC exports in 2011, three 
were developing economies:  China;  India;  an d Chinese Taipei.  China continued to remain the 
single largest export destination of LDCs. 
12. He went on to explain that the service sector had become increasingly important in LDCs' 
national output and employment.  Illustrating this point with an example, he said that the contribution of services to total value added was 60% in the case of  LDCs such as Lesotho and Senegal.  For LDCs 
like Burundi and Nepal, the share of services in GD P increased by 11 percentage points between 2000 
and 2010.  Nevertheless, the share of LDC e xports in world commercial services trade did not 
improve much, despite the LDCs registering an av erage growth of 13% per year over the 2000-2011 
period.  He noted that tourism receipts accounted  for 52% of LDC commercial services exports in 
2011, with Cambodia and Tanzania being the larg est exporters of tourism.  The second most 
important category was transportation services, wh ich represented 23% of LDCs commercial services 
export with Djibouti and Ethiopia being th e top LDC exporters of this service.  
13. He drew the attention of Members to the con tinued trade deficit of the LDCs, as a Group.  
The Group had enjoyed a period of surplus during 2006-2008, but a record deficit of US$26 billion 
was registered in 2009; the defici t had narrowed down to US$3.3 billio n in 2011 after fuel and other 
mineral prices recovered.  All non- oil exporting LDCs were in defic it in 2011.  Agricultural exporting 
LDCs were able to cove r only 37% of their imports; for LDCs exporting predominantly manufactures, 
the equivalent figure was 60%. 
14. He provided an account of the tariff treat ment faced by the LDCs in developed and 
developing countries.  In developed countries, some  80% of LDC exports entered duty free in 2010.  
This share was close to the figure for other deve loping countries (78.8%), although the improvements 
recorded for the latter were in general due to elim ination of tariffs under MFN treatment.  He pointed 
out that the LDCs had been enjoying a margin of  "true" preference (percentage of exports offered 
duty-free treatment under the GSP and other preferen tial schemes, as compared to products offered 
duty-free entry under the MFN treatment) in some sect ors of importance to them.  The share of true 
duty-free imports of developed countries from LDCs  was 53.5% in 2010 as compared to 19.1% of 
developing countries in the same year.   
15. The representative of Haiti, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the Note contained a 
considerable amount of information which would require in-depth exam ination.  He, therefore, would 
reserve his remarks.  He noted that despite some progress in LDC trade, a large number of LDCs were 
unable to diversify their export base.  Economic c onditions in many LDCs remained feeble with 
massive starvation and hunger.  The LDCs represen ted close to 15% of the world's population, but 
accounted for merely 1.15% of world trade in 2011.  Hence, more needed to be done by the international community to help LDCs beneficially integrate into the multilateral trading system.  He 
noted the improvements in market access measures ta ken by Members in favour of LDCs.  In this WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 4  
 
  regard, he thanked those developing countries that  had undertaken and notified their schemes in the 
WTO. 
16. The representative of Bangladesh noted the signi ficant growth of LDC exports of goods and 
services over the past years.  At the same time, he noted  that this growth was mostly attributable to the 
exporters of fuels and mining products - the prices of which had experienced rapid growth since 2003.  
The trade balance of the majority of LDCs conti nued to be negative, desp ite the overall improvement 
in LDC trade.  The situation of LDCs in world e xports of commercial services had been static.  He 
expressed concern that LDCs' merchandise exports, by  volume, registered a 3% decline in 2011 in 
contrast to a 7% increase in 2010.  LDCs' low leve l of diversification of export base was demonstrated 
by the fact that around 73% of their exports we re accounted for by primary commodities in 2011.  
While exports to developing countries had been incr easing, export destinations continued to remain 
limited.  The top five export destinations of  LDCs accounted for 80% of their exports. 
17. He went on to say that most developed countri es had been providing total or nearly total 
duty-free status to the LDC exports, in terms of tariff lines and import value.  He expressed 
appreciation for the developed a nd developing countries that had been providing duty-free quota-free 
(DFQF) market access to products originating fro m LDCs, and encouraged other Members to grant 
similar access to LDCs without further delay.  He  further requested that Members simplify rules of 
origin for products of interest to LDCs.  As re gards the notification of preferential schemes, he 
underlined the importance of more disaggregated inform ation - in particular at a tariff line level.  He 
urged Members to implement all decisions taken in  favour of LDCs relating to market access.  In 
conclusion, he suggested that the future versi on of the Note should contain more disaggregated 
statistics on LDC trade.  He noted that the report's group-wide data might mask the large 
heterogeneity that existed among individual LDCs.  Arguing that the facts and figures in the report 
supported the LDCs' call for meaningful preferentia l market access, he called for discussing further 
ways to better integrate LDCs into the multilateral trading system.   
18. The representative of China said that his delega tion attached high value to the Note, which 
had been useful in examining the market access s ituation of LDCs as well as in examining possible 
solutions to the problems faced by the LDCs to bette r integrate into the multilateral trading system.  
He was encouraged to note some positive progress in LDC trade.  The growth rate of LDC exports of 
goods and services had been higher than the aver age of other developing countries in the last 
two years.  The merchandise trade balance of the LDCs, as a Group, had improved considerably in 
2011.  He also noted the fundamental change in the destination markets of LDCs that had taken place 
over the last decade.  LDCs' exports to other deve loping economies had grown at  a rate of 19.8% per 
year on average between 2000 and 2011, whereas their exports to the developed countries had 
expanded by 14% annually over the same period.  In  2011, developing economies for the first time 
had received 52% of LDC exports, wh ile developed countries had absorb ed 41% of their exports.  He 
noted that LDCs' exports to developing economie s had expanded more than seven-fold in 2011 as 
compared to the level registered in 2000.  He said that similar trends were visible in foreign direct 
investment (FDI), noting that in 2011, about half of the FDI in LDCs came from other developing 
economies. 
19. He went on to say that China had been an ac tive participant in the progress of LDC trade.  
Since 2008, China had been the top market destina tion of LDC exports; it had absorbed 22% of their 
exports in 2011.  Between 2000 and 2011, China's imports from LDCs had grown at an average 
annual rate of 26% which represented the highest grow th rate among all Members.  Imports of China 
from the LDCs had witnessed a thir teen-fold increase in 2011, as comp ared to the level in 2000.  
Hence, China had been singularly responsible fo r all the increase in the share of developing 
economies in the market destinations of LDCs over the last decade.  He pointed out that 98% of 
China's imports from LDCs entered duty free in 20 10 - a level similar to developed countries.    WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
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  20. Notwithstanding the progress, he said that the LD Cs needed more attention to beneficially 
integrate into global trade.  The share of LDC merchandise exports in world goods trade had been 
1.15% in 2011, while the share of services exports in  world services trade had been merely 0.5%.  The 
LDC exports had been concentrated only on a limite d number of products.  Moreover, as highlighted 
in paragraph 64 of the Secretariat Note, some 20%  of LDCs' exports faced duties in 2010, suggesting 
scope for a fuller implementation of the Hong K ong Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs.  He 
was of the view that the conclusion of the D oha Development Agenda (DDA) would benefit the 
LDCs since agricultural products, which were princi pal export items of many LDCs, were subject to 
market distortions, and some manufactured products of export interest to LDCs were subject to tariff 
peaks.  He underlined the need for more compre hensive support to the LDCs, in addition to the 
market access measures that were be ing taken in favour of them.  In this regard, he gave an analogue 
of the Chinese principle that instead of treating symptoms it was the underlying problems that needed 
to be resolved to help a country in the long run.   
21. He reiterated that market access alone would not be sufficient to help LDCs grow.  The LDCs 
needed Aid for Trade to improve infrastructure a nd supply-side capacity, as well as investment to 
bring them technology and management.  In this regard, China had long been implementing such an 
approach to help the LDCs.  China had been maki ng important investments in Africa where 33 LDCs 
were located.  Seventy-five per cent of this investment focused on fuels as well as non-minerals 
sectors such as manufacturing as well as on broader infrastructure, trade and finance.   
22. In conclusion, he identified two typographical errors in the Note and made a comment on one 
paragraph.  He said that in paragraph 31, the re ference to Chart 5 should actually be referred to as 
Chart 6.  He then pointed out that in paragraph 37, the reference to Chart 5 should be replaced by 
Chart 7.  He further pointed to some inconsistency of wordings in paragraph 42 of the Note where the 
top LDC exporters to major markets was discussed.  He quoted from that paragraph:  "… for China, 
the top five LDC suppliers are all exporters of fuel s and minerals.  For India and Chinese Taipei, four 
are fuel mineral exporters…".  However, he noted th at where it referred to the top suppliers in the EU 
and the US, the wording showed the other side of the picture:  "… Bangladesh and Cambodia, 
exporters of clothing, are to be found among the five major LDC suppliers…".  The Note did not 
specify whether or not the remaining LDC exporters in these markets were fuel and mineral exporters.  
Hence, his delegation found that there had been some inconsistency of the wording vis-à-vis  the same 
issue.  He hoped that the typologi cal errors as well as the inconsiste ncy of the wording in the Note 
that he had identified would be reflected  in the revised version of the Note. 
23. The representative of Tanzania associated herself with the statement made by Haiti, on behalf 
of the LDC Group.  Describing the annual market  access report as detailed and comprehensive, she 
hoped that future reports would be able to provide  more disaggregated information for individual 
LDCs, so that each LDC could know where it stood.  She noted that the growth rates of LDC exporters, other than the fuel and mining export ers, had been low.  Improved market access 
opportunities should be accompanied by adequate meas ures to tackle supply-side constraints in the 
LDCs.  She underlined the importance of concerted efforts from the international community to help 
LDCs alleviate poverty. 
24. The representative of the European Union welcom ed the progress that the LDCs had made in 
integrating into the multilateral trading system and the positive overall trend in LDCs' trade as had 
been demonstrated in the Secretariat Note.  She also welcomed the progress achieved in the area of 
market access for LDC products, noting that most  developed countries now provided full or almost 
full DFQF access to LDC imports, and that some  progress was also achieved in the area of 
preferential rules of origin.  She was particularly  encouraged by the fact that emerging economies 
were enhancing preferential treatment to the LDCs , suggesting that this was important given that 
exports to those countries had been growing.  Noting that the market access schemes were being 
implemented in phases, she looked forward to monitoring the import figures from LDCs in the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 6  
 
  developing countries.  Her delegation was interested  in exploring the difference between tariff line 
coverage and preference utilization noted by th e WTO Secretariat in its opening remarks.   
25. She went on to say that despite the positive tre nd, the participation of LDCs in global trade 
remained marginal and that the progress in LDC trad e was not equally distributed.  The LDCs had not 
been able to diversify their export base.  LD C exports were increasingly dominated by primary 
commodities, particularly fuels and mining pr oducts.  She noted the declining weight of 
manufacturing and agricultural sectors in LDC exports , and the stagnation of commercial services.  
She deplored the fact that the already modest sh are of LDCs in global flows of FDI was further 
declining and the fact that the FDI remained con centrated in extractive activities in resource-rich 
economies in Africa. 
26. She underscored the importance of deeper analys is on services and FDI, given the importance 
of these to the LDC economies, although noting that da ta availability in these areas had been limited.  
Citing the Note's finding that one-fifth of LDC exports faced duties in 2010, she argued that considerable progress could still be achieved to  improve access for LDC exports.  She urged 
developed and emerging economies to further pur sue their efforts to implement the Hong Kong 
Declaration and to move towards full DFQF mark et access for LDC products.  She added that better 
market access should also be complemented by ad equate Aid for Trade to help integrate LDCs in 
global trade.   
27. In conclusion, she reiterated that the EU ha d been increasingly refocusing efforts on LDCs 
and other countries most in need, in the context of its unilateral trade preferences and development 
aid.  She expressed concern that at present only 16% of Aid for Trade was going to the LDCs, and 
hoped that this share would go up in future.  The EU intended to increase its Aid for Trade to the 
LDCs.  In this regard, she called upon the LDCs to make trade a priority in their aid programming and 
to integrate trade more systemically  into their development strategies. 
28. The representative of India said that, as pointed out  in the introduction by  the Secretariat, the 
trends of LDC trade over the last two years exhib ited both positives as well as some negatives.  She 
was encouraged to note the robust growth of LDC exports after the 2008-2009 global economic 
crises, which were 26% and 24% in 2010 and 2011 , respectively.  These growth rates were much 
higher than the growth in exports for the rest of th e world.  As a result, the share of LDCs in world 
trade had increased marginally from 1.09% in 2010 to  1.12% in 2011.  She also considered as positive 
the growing share of developing economies as ma rkets for LDC exports, which increased from 40% 
in 2000 to 52% in 2011.  Asia emerged as a major destination for LDC exports.  Among the 
developing countries, India was the second larg est export destination for LDCs in 2011.   
29. She went on to say that notwithstanding the above trends, the share of LDCs in world trade at 
1.12% in 2011 continued to be abysmally low;  the share of their goods export in world merchandise trade also remained low at 1.15%.  The share of LDCs in global trade of commercial services had 
remained stagnant.  This underlined the need for co ncerted efforts on the part of the LDCs and their 
trading partners, both developed and developing countries, to enable the LDCs to integrate fully into 
the multilateral trading system by taking advantag e of available opportunities.  She underlined the 
importance of expanding export capabilities of LDCs  through diversification and infrastructure 
development.  In this regard, enhanced mark et access should go hand-in-hand with enhanced 
Aid for Trade.   
30. She said that improving the trading environmen t through enhanced market access was an 
important component of her country's efforts to assi st the LDCs.  As mentioned in the Secretariat 
Note, developing countries had ta ken concrete steps to increm entally improve market access 
opportunities for LDC exports, including by providi ng duty-free access;  they had notified to the 
WTO the various schemes that had been implemente d.  India on its part had launched the Duty Free  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme in 2008 which was progressing well.  The LDCs had shown 
increasing interest in taking advantage of this scheme.   She urged Members that had not yet done so to 
implement the Hong Kong Ministerial Decision on DFQF access for LDCs which would go a long way in improving market access for them.  She noted that the Ministers had urged for full implementation of this Decision at the Eighth WT O Ministerial Conference in 2011 (MC8).  In 
conclusion, she echoed China's concerns about the ba lance of the wording of some paragraphs in the 
Note and invited the Secretariat to take note of those. 
31. The representative of the United States said that  the Note provided valuable insights on the 
export performance of the LDCs.  Similar to precedi ng reports, the Note highlighted the importance of 
South-South trade for LDCs throughout - particularly the role played by emerging market countries as 
major LDC export destinations, grantors of LDC preferences, and an increasing source of trade 
dynamism.  She noted that the report also provided important details on trends in South-South trade 
that could assist LDCs in assessing the benefits of  ambitious trade liberalization in the advanced 
developing economies.  Her delega tion would continue to analyze the report and reflect on how to 
take the information in the report into account in  her country's own efforts to address the challenges 
faced by the LDCs in integrating into the multil ateral trading system.  She looked forward to 
continued discussions in this Sub-Committee a bout ways to better address those challenges. 
32. The representative of Pakistan noted with satisf action the increase of the share of LDCs in 
world trade over the last decade.  He was also en couraged to note that several Members including 
China, the EU, India and the US had undertaken market access schemes for LDCs which had resulted 
in manifold increase of imports from LDCs in these markets.  At the same time, he drew the attention 
of Members to the fact that 20% of LDC exports to developed countries faced duties in 2010 and that 
many items of export interest to LDCs were subject to high duties.  With regard to services trade, he 
noted that the LDC exports had been dominated by the tourism sector.  He was of the view that 
greater investment in the services sectors and enha nced opportunities in the supply of services under 
Mode 4 could help LDCs improve th eir participation in services trade.  Thus, the LDCs needed better 
market access opportunities to beneficially in tegrate into the multilateral trading system.   
33. He continued by saying that while LDC e xports had recovered from the global economic 
crisis, it had left behind a trail of complexiti es.  Higher trade costs continued to undermine the 
potential in LDCs.  The LDCs were also unable to take advantage of the phenomenon of global 
supply chains.  He underlined that the excessive reliance of LDCs on exports of primary products 
needed to be examined, so was the need to look  at the preference utilization rates by them.  He 
highlighted the importance of trade finance and better trade facilitation measures to help LDCs 
increase their exports.  He called for better capacity building for the LDCs to take advantage of the 
dynamics of world trade, including through increased, targeted Aid for Trade, and associating preference packages with better trade facilitation measures.  
34. The representative of Australia noted that th e Secretariat report responded to a specific 
mandate from the WTO Work Progra mme for the LDCs, and that it reflected only part of the complex 
and challenging picture of LDCs in the multilatera l trading system.  He was encouraged by the 
sustained increase in LDC exports, rising from US $18 billion in 1980 to around US$230 billion in 
2011.  Describing WTO accession as an important en abler of development through trade for the 
LDCs, he expressed hope that the July 2012 Gene ral Council Decision on LDC Accession would play 
a positive role in this regard.  He also identifie d some other positive developments which included the 
increasing role of Aid for Trade, including the En hanced Integrated Framework (EIF), in helping 
LDCs mainstream trade into their developmen t strategies and in addressing their supply-side 
constraints.   
35. He noted that LDCs remained dependant on a limited range of products and markets, making 
them highly vulnerable to changing conditions in worl d trade.  Thus, a range of measures were needed WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 8  
 
  to enhance the capacity of LDCs  in trade.  These included, inter alia , improved market access for 
LDC products.  He called upon Members to provi de 100% DFQF access across all tariff lines, as 
Australia had done since 2003.  It was important that the LDCs took the advantage of the services waiver adopted at MC8.  Assistan ce was also needed to help LDCs comply with non-tariff measures.  
He reiterated that Australia stood ready to discuss with LDCs and any other Member to help LDCs 
maximize the potential benefits of the multilateral trading system.  In conclusion, he made some 
specific remarks on the Note.  He sought more deta ils about the report's observation of a 3% decline 
in LDC exports in volume terms in  2011, as well as greater specificity about the individual products 
dominating the export baskets of individual LDCs.   
36. The representative of Colombia noted that th e share of LDCs in world trade of goods and 
services stood at 1.12% in 2011.  This low share s uggested that more needed to be done by the 
international community to help LDCs' developm ent.  Although exports grew by a robust 24% in 
2011, this growth rate was less significant in light of its excessive linkages to commodity prices which 
remained volatile.  The growth achieved by the LDCs  was not a result of greater productivity, nor was 
it a result of better competitive position of LDCs in world trade.  She suggested that the upcoming 
Ministerial Conference in 2013 would provide a good o ccasion to reflect on the practical deliverables 
that could contribute to greater development in the LDCs.  In this regard, she invited all Members to 
reflect on such deliverables that would have an im pact on increasing LDC trade.  Potential examples 
could include implementation of the LDC services waiver.  The LDCs could also examine the potentials of a monitoring mechanism for special and differential treatment (S&D) being discussed 
under the Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development, as well as the 28 Cancún 
Agreement-specific proposals and the six Agreement- specific proposals that were being considered.  
In conclusion, she thanked the Chairman for his efforts in successfully completing the work on LDC 
accession, as per the instructions of Ministers given at MC8. 
37. The representative of Turkey said that the Note revealed the fact that considerable progress 
had been made by the LDCs in global trade over th e last decade.  There had been an increase of 
LDCs' share in world trade, along with some market  diversification.  However, this progress owed 
much to the commodity boom which made the pr ogress fragile.  The trade performance within the 
LDC Group members had been uneven.  He urged the international community to redouble efforts to 
integrate the LDCs into the global economy in a sust ained manner.  He welcomed the adoption of the 
LDC Accession Decision in July 2012, and hoped that the Decision would help LDCs further 
integrate into the multilateral trading system. 
38. The representative of Solomon Islands said that  the Secretariat Note demonstrated some 
positive trends in the exports of LDCs, though much needed to be done to he lp LDCs make further 
progress.  He noted that small-island developing co untries such as his own tended to be dependent on 
exports of a handful of commodities, making investment  in diversification particularly important.  He 
underlined the need for increased investment in the LDCs to diversify their production and export 
base.  He noted that despite an overall improvement  of LDC exports, much of those exports were in 
primary commodities, which in turn were driven  by the increased demand from developed countries 
as well as emerging economies.  In this regard, he hoped that more disaggregated analysis could be 
done by the Secretariat in future versions of the report.  In conclusion, he reiterated the need for 
investment and increased Aid for Trade aimed at supporting economic diversification in LDCs, and 
thereby to help them alleviate poverty. 
39. The Chairman noted that the discussion had been substantive.  He would explore with the 
Secretariat on possible ways of continuing the discussion on issues that had been highlighted.  He 
noted the suggestions made for incorporation in a possible revision of the Note.  The Note would  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
 Page 9 
 
 
  remain on the agenda of the next meeting.  He  proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the 
document contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/56 as well as of the statements made.1 
40. It was so agreed. 
C. TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY -BUILDING INITIATIVES FOR 
LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
- An Update on the Enhanced Integrated Fr amework (JOB/DEV/21) - Report by the EIF 
Executive Secretariat 
41. The Chairman invited the Executive Secretariat of the EIF to provide the Sub-Committee with 
an update on progress made in the implementation of the EIF. 
42. The representative of the Executive Secretaria t of the EIF thanked the Chairman for the 
opportunity to update the Sub-Committee on the progr ess in the implementation of the EIF.  She drew 
Members' attention to the Note contained in JOB/DEV/21 and JOB/DEV/21/Corr.1 which provided a 
detailed account of the status of the EIF.   
43. She pointed out that 47 countries were at vari ous stages of the EIF process.  In addition, 
discussion on the admission of Myanmar was ongoing.  Tier 1 projects to strengthen institutional 
capacity, and Tier 2 projects for catalytic support to supply-side capacity building, were being 
developed and submitted to the Board for approva l.  Disbursements of committed pledges by the 
23 EIF donors to the multi-donor EIF Trust Fund c ontinued to increase.  Total pledges stood at 
US$240 million, and the actual funding received was US$165 million, as of 19 September 2012.  She noted that the EIF countries were making efforts to leverage other financial sources to implement their 
EIF and Aid-for-Trade agenda – a number of countri es were in the process of holding Aid-for-Trade 
Round Tables or other events to mobilize Aid for Trade. 
44. She went on to highlight that Tier 1 projects had been approved for 31 beneficiary countries, 
assisting them in the strengthening of their ins titutional structures to support the implementation of 
their respective national programmes.  Furthermor e, a number of countries had moved forward with 
the identification and realignment of their trade pr iorities through formulating or updating of their 
Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTISs) – to da te 20 DTIS updates had been approved.  In 2012, 
DTISs for Afghanistan and Bhutan, and DTIS upda tes for Burundi, Lao PDR and Lesotho had been 
finalized.  She was pleased to report that to date nine Tier 2 projects had been approved for Burkina 
Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic , The Gambia, Mali, Nepal, Sierra Leone and 
Uganda.  A further 12 Tier 2 projects were in th e pipeline and would be submitted to the EIF Board 
before the end of 2012.  She noted that a range of  projects were being submitted for Tier 2 funding, 
responding to different needs in the EIF countries such as addressing constraints in sector specific 
value chains, or improving standards compliance, or strengthening trade promotion.  In future, feasibility studies would also be funded under Tier 2 funding.  
45. She continued by saying that the EIF Secretaria t had been working with the EIF core agencies 
and other partners to respond to the immediate need s expressed by the LDCs.  In this context, three 
capacity development modules had been developed:  one to help EIF countries formulate concrete 
project ideas;  one to mainstream trade into their political, strategic and budget processes;  and one to 
include gender issues into the EIF programme.  More capacity building modules were under way to 
strengthen EIF countries capacities; one to formulate multi-year EIF programmes, and one to strengthen the in-country EIF architecture. 
                                                      
1 A revision to the Note was issued on 31 October 2012 (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/56/Rev.1). WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 10  
 
  46. She said that at the margins of the UNCTAD X III Conference, an EIF Ministerial Breakfast 
had been organized on 23 April 2012.  This event was well attended.  The participating Ministers and 
their delegations had taken stock of the results ach ieved of the EIF Framework and identified ways to 
accelerate the delivery of results on trade mainstr eaming and implementation of the Aid-for-Trade 
plan of individual LDC.  This was being done with  a focus on strengthening the effectiveness of the 
EIF national structures.  One concrete result of the ministerial event was the development of the 
capacity building module to strengthen the in-country EIF architecture.  In addition, a project was 
under way bringing together lessons learnt from eight EIF countries (Burundi, Cambodia, The Gambia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia).   
47. She was pleased to report that the EIF Executive Secretariat had almost reached its full staff 
requirement as approved by the EIF Board.  In 2012, a new Country Coordinator had joined the 
Executive Secretariat to replace one who had left in 2011.  The new head of Communications had 
assumed office on 1 October 2012.  The recruitment of a Communications Officer would be launched 
in the near future, and in the meantime short-te rm support to assist with communications had been 
secured.  Other short-term support to assist countries in formulating projects was also being facilitated 
on a regular basis.  
48. In conclusion, she said that the EIF was in the process of a Mid-term Review (MTR) which 
would recommend ways to improve EIF delivery in future.  The review would be a comprehensive 
one, including 12 in-depth country case studies and a thorough survey of the entire partnership (including in-country stakeholders and donor capital s) with respect to the functioning of the EIF 
processes and delivery of results.  The first report of the MTR would be available at the next EIF 
Board meeting, scheduled for end October 2012.  Th e MTR conclusions were likely to guide the EIF 
work programme for 2013 and beyond.  
49. The representative of Haiti, on behalf of the LD C Group, was encouraged to note the progress 
in the EIF programme.  He underlined the importance of the ongoing MTR.  Despite the slow 
progress in the initial years of the implementation of the EIF, a number of projects had started to 
receive funding in recent years.  He called for furt her strengthening the funding of the EIF so as to 
implement more capacity building projects in LDCs.  In this regard, he emphasized the need to 
enlarge the EIF donor base, which mainly consiste d of developed countries with a few developing 
countries.  He encouraged developing countries to become part of the EIF process as donors.   
50. The representative of Solomon Islands thanked the EIF Board for its recent approval of his 
country's Tier 1 project, and expressed hope that it would be implemented soon.  His authorities were 
working together with the EIF Board and the Executive  Secretariat in putting together a Tier 2 project 
proposal which would soon be submitted.  He expr essed support for the ongoing MTR.  His country 
was one of the12 LDCs that had been studied in the context of this MTR process.  He encouraged 
development partners to assist and provide funding for implementation of projects under the EIF.  In 
conclusion, he thanked Australia  for its continued support in his country's EIF process.   
51. The representative of Australia said that the EIF played an important role in addressing 
institutional and supply-side constr aints that had been preventing LDCs from taking full advantage of 
international trade.  He welcomed the positive developments in the report made by the EIF 
Secretariat, particularly that 31 Tier 1 pr ojects had been approved to strengthen national 
implementation arrangements.  These projects constitu ted the core of the EIF programme.  He was 
equally encouraged to note that nine Tier 2 project s had been approved by the EIF Board, up from two 
projects at the beginning of 2012.  The development and approval of the more complex Tier 2 projects 
to address LDCs' supply-side constraints demonstrated  the progress that the LDCs had made in taking 
advantage of support through the EIF.    WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
 Page 11 
 
 
  52. Although not mentioned in the report, he welc omed the EIF Executive Secretariat's ongoing 
work to provide a clear snapshot of what the EI F was doing in individual LDCs.  That work would 
reveal the success of the EIF in individual LDCs, would bring out the lessons learned across the beneficiaries and would contri bute improving coordination among donors.  The MTR would provide a 
useful basis for further discussions on enhancing the EIF, and his delegation looked forward to 
participating actively in those discussions.  In conc lusion, he said that often the language used by the 
EIF Secretariat could be highly technical and its  successes could be difficult to identify clearly.  
Hence, processes like the MTR, as well as regular  updates of the EIF in the Sub-Committee could 
provide an opportunity to Members to better understand what the EIF was doing, what it was doing well and what improvements could be made.   
53. The representative of the European Union reiterate d her delegation's active interest in the EIF, 
which was demonstrated both by the support that the EU had been extending to the EIF as well as 
through its participation in the EIF Board.  She l ooked forward to the result of the ongoing MTR.  In 
this regard, mainstreaming of trade, monitoring, an d achieving concrete results were important.  She 
reiterated that the EU would play its part in the MTR process, with the objective of having the 
strongest possible framework for supporti ng LDCs to build their trade capacity. 
54. The Chairman said that the EIF represented an  important instrument for building trade 
capacity in the LDCs.  He looked forward to the conclusion of the ongoing MTR, which he believed 
would further enhance the use of this instrument.  He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of 
the presentation made by the EIF Executive Secr etariat as well as of the statements made. 
55. It was so agreed. 
- Overview of Progress in the Standar ds and Trade Development Facility (STDF) 
(JOB/STDF/1):  Briefing by the STDF Secretariat 
56. The Chairman invited the Secretariat of th e Standards and Trade Development Facility 
(STDF) to provide the Sub-Committee with an ove rview of progress in the activities under the STDF.  
57. The representative of the STDF Secretariat provided a detailed overview of the STDF's 
activities, covering its institutional structure, its  mandate, its ongoing and planned work as well as 
procedures for accessing STDF funding.  In order to facilitate discussion under this item, a document had been issued as JOB/STDF/1.   
58. He said that the STDF was a global partnershi p, supporting developing countries in building 
their capacity to implement international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards.  SPS issues had 
been frequently cited as a main barrier in the tr ade of agriculture and food products which was of 
particular relevance to the LDCs  whose economy often relied heav ily on agriculture.  The STDF had 
been working both as a coordinating as well as a f unding mechanism.  It was a reference point for 
SPS coordination, for exchange of information as well as for identification and dissemination of good 
practices.  The Facility had been benefiting from the e xpertise and skills of its partners.  It comprised 
five core partners:  FAO, OIE, the World Bank, WHO and the WTO.  There were important linkages 
with the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures where the STDF reported on its 
activities on a regular basis.  There were also  important linkages with the EIF as well as the 
Aid-for-Trade Initiative.  He invited Members' atte ntion to the STDF Virtual Library which would be 
launched by the end of the year.  The Virtual Li brary would serve as a central repository containing 
SPS-related electronic documentation, including SPS needs assessments, action plans, training materials, etc.  It would further facilitate the disse mination of relevant experiences and good practices.   
59. He went on to highlight some activities/developmen ts that were of particular relevance to the 
LDCs.  Thematic events on topical issues were be ing organized on a regular basis.  The STDF, in WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 12  
 
  collaboration with the Secretariat of the Intern ational Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the 
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) had organized a seminar on International Trade and 
Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Geneva on 12-13 July 2012.  The Seminar had sought to raise 
awareness about the mutually supportive objectiv es of the WTO SPS Agreement and the Convention 
on Biological Diversity (CBD).  He then invited Members' attention to the work on the use of 
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to inform  decision-making on SPS investment options and 
resource allocation.  The MCDA tool essentially represented a mechanism to help countries with 
priority setting.  A draft MCDA guidebook describing th e steps involved in the use of this tool had 
been developed and was available on the STDF we bsite.  In 2011, the STDF had assisted two 
countries in Africa (Mozambique and Zambia).  In 2012, the tool was applied in Ethiopia, Rwanda, 
Malawi and Uganda with the support from COME SA and USAID.  A regional training workshop on 
the use of MCDA was held in August 2011 in Johann esburg, South Africa.  A similar event for Asia 
and Pacific region would be held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2012.   
60. He continued by saying that the STDF had initia ted preparatory work on the linkages between 
SPS and Trade Facilitation, in collaboration with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development 
Bank (IDB) and other interested regional developmen t banks and organizations.  The purpose of this 
work, to be carried out in 2013, would be to enhance understanding among SPS practitioners and staff 
of customs authorities in developing countries about the role of SPS agencies in trade facilitation, and 
to enhance the effective engagement of SPS agen cies in collaborative border management.  This 
work, inter alia , might include regional research in Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America.   
61. He said that funds up to US$50,000 were availa ble for project preparation grants (PPGs), 
which could be used, among others, for preparation of feasibility studies or preparation for project 
proposals that could be funded by the STDF or othe r donors.  Since its inception, a total of 52 PPGs 
had been approved and funded by the STDF out of  which 32 PPGs had exclusively benefitted the 
LDCs.  Project grant financing of up to a maxi mum of US$1 million was available from the STDF 
that focused on, among others, the use of regional approaches to address SPS constraints.  So far, 
60 projects had been approved for STDF funding out of which 20 projects had exclusively benefitted 
the LDCs.  He pointed out that the STDF had a target  of devoting at least 40% if its project resources 
to LDCs and other low-income countries.  The figur e stood at 47% at present, which was higher than 
the target set.  In conclusion, he drew the attenti on of Members to the next deadline for submission of 
projects, i.e. 28 December 2012.  He invited Me mbers to consult the STDF website for further 
information on STDF's activities ( http://www.standardsfacility.org/ ). 
62. The representative of Haiti, on behalf of the LDC Group, welcomed the informative 
presentation by the STDF Secretariat.  He underlined the need to strengthen capacity in the LDCs to 
implement international SPS standards.  He was encour aged to note the broad range of activities being 
undertaken by the STDF.  He hoped that the capita l-based officials of the LDCs would take full 
advantage of this Facility. 
63. The Chairman said that the STDF was an important instrument to the benefit of LDCs.  He 
proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the pr esentation made by the STDF Secretariat, as well 
as of the statements made. 
64. It was so agreed. 
D. UPDATE OF THE WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD /LDC/11) 
65. The Chairman recalled that the item was discussed  nearly a year ago.  He also recalled the 
proposals made by the LDC Group to update the curre nt Work Programme, which had been circulated  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
 Page 13 
 
 
  as a room document at the April 2012 meeting of th e Sub-Committee.  He invited the Coordinator of 
the LDC Group to take the floor.  
66. The representative of Haiti, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the item had been put on 
hold as the LDC Group had become preoccupied with the work on LDC accessions since the 
beginning of 2012.  The Group was now ready to re -engage on this issue, since the work on LDC 
accession had been completed.  He invited Members' attention to the proposals made by the LDCs to 
update the current Work Programme, copies of which had been made available at the back of the 
meeting room.  He stressed the need to make the Wo rk Programme relevant in view of some recent 
developments relating to the LDCs.  He urged Memb ers to give due consideration to the suggested 
changes by the LDC Group.  He hoped that an agreement on the update of the Work Programme 
could be achieved by the end of the year. 
67. The representative of the European Union said that her delegation was favourable to the idea 
of a technical update of the current Work Progra mme, in light of certain developments since the 
adoption of the Work Programme in 2002.  Sh e expressed support for the idea of including the 
reference of UN LDC-IV Conference in the Work Programme.  She also underlined the need to 
update the language in the Work Programme relating to  the EIF.  She reiterated that the update should 
remain a short and technical exercise, and that her delegation had some suggestions on the changes 
proposed by the LDC Group, both in terms of language  and substance.  She expressed the willingness 
of her delegation to discuss the issue in any format in the coming months. 
68. The representative of the United States reiterated that her delegation would agree to a 
technical update of the current Work Programme, to reflect certain cha nges occurred since its 
adoption in 2002.  She noted that some suggested  changes by the LDC Group were substantive in 
nature and required detailed discussion.  She suggest ed that informal meetings of the Sub-Committee 
could be convened to examine the changes propos ed by the LDC Group.  Such meetings would 
provide an opportunity for an exchange of views on the LDC proposals and would allow for clarifications/answers to the questions that Memb ers might have on those proposals.  Her delegation 
was ready to discuss the issue in detail with  the LDCs or with any other Member.   
69. The representative of Haiti endorsed the idea of informal meetings to move the process 
forward. 
70. The representative of China expressed support to the update of the Work Programme.  He 
looked forward to engaging in the informal meetings  that might be convened in  future to move this 
work forward.   
71. The Chairman invited the LDC Group to arra nge bilateral discussions with interested 
delegations to facilitate agreem ent on its proposals.  He noted the suggestion from Members for 
convening informal meetings of the Sub-Committee to take the work forward.  He would convene 
such meetings at a future date.  In the meanti me, he encouraged the LDC Group to intensify its 
engagement with interested Members. 
72. It was so agreed. 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
73. The representative of Haiti, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the LDC Group would 
hold a Retreat from 18 to 20 October in Montreux, Switzerland.  The goal of the Retreat was to 
review the entire gamut of issues of interest to  LDCs, and to set the Group's agenda until the next 
Ministerial Conference in 2013.  In addition, LD Cs would use the occasion to choose the next 
Coordinator of the Group, who would assume the role in January 2013, but would be able to use the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/67 
Page 14  
 
  intervening months to prepare for th e task.  The participants included, inter alia , the EIF Secretariat, 
the ICTSD (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development), IDEAS (International 
Trade Development, Economic Governance Advi sory Services) Centre, ILEAP (International 
Lawyers and Economists against Poverty), Saana C onsulting and TradeMark Southern Africa.  The 
Retreat was expected to come up with a document ou tlining the steps to be undertaken to advance the 
issues of interest to LDCs in the WTO, includi ng in the run up to the Ninth WTO Ministerial 
Conference in 2013.  He invited inputs from Me mbers, which might help the Group in their 
deliberations.   
74. The Sub-Committee took note of the statemen t made by the representative of Haiti.  
75. The Chairman said that the date of the next meeting would be communicated in due course. 
76. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned. 
 
 
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