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WT/COMTD/SE/M/33  
 
7 February  2017 
(17-0740) Page: 1/10 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Thirty -Third Dedicated Session    
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 4 NOVEMBER 2016  
H.E. M r Juan Esteban Aguirre Martínez (Paraguay)1  
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. CHALLENGES A ND OPPORTUNITIES EXP ERIENCED BY SMALL EC ONOMIES 
WHEN LINKING INTO GL OBAL VALUE CHAINS IN  TRADE IN GOODS AND 
SERVICES (WT/COMTD/S E/W/31)  ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
(i) The Role of Logistic Services and Trade Facilitati on (Section  6.0) – Presentation by 
UNCTAD ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................  2 
(ii) Bold and Sustainable Actions to Link into Global Value Chains – The Jamaican 
Experience - Presentation by Jamaica  ................................ ................................ ....................  2 
(iii) Logistic Services and Maritime Transportation - Presentation by Panama  ...........................  4 
(iv) Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing and Role of Ins titutions 
in the Sector's Development (Section 3.2.2) – Presentation by ITC  ................................ ...........  5 
(v) Software and Services in Sri Lanka – Presentation by Sri Lanka (Association of 
Software and Services Companies ) ................................ ................................ .......................  6 
(vi) Success Stories with Business Process Outsourcing and Information Technology 
Services – Presentation by Guatemala (AGEXPORT), Pre -Recorded Video Message  ......................  7 
C. MINISTERIAL DECISION  ON THE WORK PROGRAMM E ON SMALL 
ECONOMIES (WT/MIN(15 )/40 – WT/L/975) – REDUCING TRADE COSTS  .......................  9 
(i) SVE Group Proposal to Advance Work on "Challenges Small Economies Experience 
in their efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in the area of Trade Facilitation" 
(WT/COMTD/SE/W/33)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  9 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 10 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA 
1. The Chairman  said that the draft agenda for the meeting was contained in 
WTO/AIR/ COMTD/SE/5/Rev.1 , circulated on 2 6 October  2016. He announced a  change in the 
airgram  under item B (VI). Since the  representative of the  Internet Society  would not be able to 
attend, the Chair man proposed that the item be dropped from the agenda. It was so agreed . The 
Chairman asked if any M ember wished to add any su bject Under Other Business. No M ember 
wished to do so.  
2. The agenda was adopted. 
                                                
1 The meetin g was exceptionally chaired by H.E. Mr  Juan Esteban Aguirre Martinez (Paraguay), who 
stood in for the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development , H.E. Mr Christopher Onyanga Aparr 
(Uganda).  WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  B. CHALLENGES AND OPPOR TUNITIES EXPERIENCED  BY SMALL ECONOMIES W HEN 
LINKING INTO GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS IN TRAD E IN GOODS AND SER VICES 
(WT/COMTD/SE/W/31)  
3. The Chair man explained that the Secretariat document had been the f ocus of the last four 
meetings  held on 1 June  and 29 October in 2015 and on 9 March and 12 July 2016. The last 
meeting , which had focused on tourism services, had been very fruitful.  Presentations had been 
given by the WTO Services Division, representatives of the World Tourism Organizati on, USAID  
and the ITC. Representatives of Guatemala and the South Pacific Tourism Organization made 
presentations from their respective regional points of view. The representatives of the 
Dominican  Republic and Ecuador had also shared their national experi ences from the floor. The 
minutes of the July meeting had been  circulated on 1 6 September in document 
WT/COMTD/SE/M/32.  
4. The Chair man said that at the present meeting the Dedicated Session would  continue its 
examination of the Secretariat paper, focusing on  Information Technology and Business Process 
Outsourcing.  Presentations would be made by  Mr Jan Hoffmann, Chief of UNCTAD's Trade 
Facilitation Section, Dr Eric Deans, Director at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, 
Ms Krizia  Matthews from the delegation of Panama, Mr Martin Labbe, Senior Officer, Trade Support 
Institution Development at the ITC and Mr Mano Sekaram, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Association 
of Software and Service Companies. There would also be a pre -recorded video presentation by 
Mr. Andrés Porr as, ‎from the Exporters ' Association of Guatemala.  
(i) The Role of Logistic Services and Trade Facilitation (Section  6.0) – Presentation by UNCTAD  
5. The representative from UNCTAD  spoke about the role of maritime transport and logistics. 
He said that 80 % of global trade by volume was maritime. In the 1970s, developing countries 
exported large volumes of raw materials and imported high value, low volume, manufactured 
goods. Nowadays, developing countries participate in globalized production and import raw 
materials and export manufactured goods. He pointed out that developing countries also had a 
share in the globalized production of what he called "maritime transport," including in the building, 
registration and scrapping of ships, and in the provision of crew s. 
6. He introduced UNCTAD's maritime profiles, which detail ed the participation of countries in 
maritime transport. He highlighted the cases of some small economies like Mauritius and Sri Lanka 
and explained that some small economies record large participati ons in certain sectors such as 
transhipment. This was due mainly to their location. Others were involved in ship registration such 
as Vanuatu and Panama. Various profiles could be found on UNCTAD's website .  
7. The representative of UNCTAD said that when it c ame to issues of connectivity, a main 
element concerned the volume of goods in transit. This was a difficult area for many small 
economies which lacked the necessary economies of scale. There were, however, other factors 
involved such as geography and port  efficiency and trade facilitation. He added that in the area of 
trade facilitation and logistics, small economies could in fact concentrate their efforts to better 
integrate into global value chains  (GVCs) . 
8. He also spoke about freight costs. He said that many small economies faced challenges in 
this area because of distances and low shipping volumes. Another factor which complicated 
matters was that container ships were becoming ever larger. This reduced costs at sea, but also 
implied that more investments  had to be made for additional equipment and port infrastructure in 
order to service such ships.  
(ii) Bold and Sustainable Actions to Link into Global Value Chains – The Jamaican Experience - 
Presentation by Jamaica  
9. A representative from Jamaica  took the f loor to talk about his country's experiences with 
GVCs . 
10. He described the global trade playing field and said it consisted of two types of players: on  
the one side, economically complex, and technologically advanced countries with large dominant 
transnation al corporations; on the other,  smaller, less sophisticated and less diverse economies WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  composed of mainly small  and medium -sized enterprises (SMEs). He said  that transnational 
companies were currently very powerful mainly because they had considerable influ ence over 
global trade due to their participation in extensive, globally dispersed value chains. He said that 
according to UNCTAD, transnational companies accounted for 80% of global trade, with a third 
coming from intra -firm trade. In these networks, raw materials and intermediate products were 
transformed into technically complex and sophisticated products which were then distributed 
across multiple borders.  
 
11. He explained that small and vulnerable e conomies ( SVEs) face obstacles while trying to 
break int o GVCs which are normally dominated by transnationals . Obstacles include difficulties with 
meeting standards or rules concerning quantity, quality, speed of delivery and intellectual property 
protection. He said such conditions had caused countries like Ja maica to record negative trade 
balances , mainly because they were importing higher value finished products which sometimes 
contained raw materials they had initially exported.  
12. He thought that small economies like Jamaica lacked the economic complexity or i ndustrial 
sophistication to achieve sustained growth. Jamaica had limited natural resources and lacked the 
necessary economies of scale. When it did have resources, these would normally be extracted in a 
primary state and then processed elsewhere.  
13. He elab orated that the nature of GVCs  was changing and the current dynamics of global 
production called for business linkages with transnationals. This in turn created opportunities for 
SME suppliers to link with GVCs. Also, many more host countries were now offe ring incentives to 
attract foreign direct investment ( FDI). He explained that because global companies were 
incorporating more environmental, social and governance considerations into their supply chain 
management structures, there was now a greater emphas is on striving to build relations with 
suppliers that delivered long -term value along the entire supply chain. Such companies were 
helping to instil good practices in SMEs across the developing world.  
14. Speaking specifically about the Jamaican experience, he  said that the national economy 
consisted of private businesses and state -owned enterprises operating a relatively small number of 
industries, such as tourism, primary mineral extraction, agriculture, agro -processing and light 
manufacturing. In services, t he main industries were tourism, business process outsourcing and 
data processing . 
15. He said that Jamaica had been experimenting with free trade zones since the 1970s, and 
had an original focus on the garment industry. The country's experience in this sector , however, 
showed its vulnerability to external factors. In 1993 the industry had exports of over 
US$450 million , made up mainly of shipments to the U nited States. By 2005 , the industry had 
almost disappeared. He said that this was because of the North Ame rican Free Trade Agreement 
(NAFTA) and because of th e abolition of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) . 
16. More recently, Jamaica had been trying to develop its Business Process Outsourcing industry 
mainly with call centres and back -office processing of transact ions. Since the late 1990s, Jamaica 
began to experience rapid growth in this  sector which currently employes  about 20,000 people. It 
was projected that it would keep growing at 10% to 15% annually.  
17. He explained that Jamaica had experienced slow economic gr owth and what was really 
needed was "big, bold and disruptive action" . He believed that economic growth and development 
were intimately related to the level of product diversification, skills and market linkages. To 
diversify, an economy needed to upgrade its educational and skills levels, offer diverse financial 
instruments and have good institutions which build on technology, knowledge innovation and 
logistics services.   
18. Jamaica was receiving support for its global logistics hub initiative from the World  Bank. The 
initiative consisted of four pillars: building a world class economic zone, complete with seaports, 
airports and t elecommunication infrastructure,  develop  highly skilled human resources,  create 
institutional arrangements that are conducive to gl obal trade , use technological advances and 
transparent business processes to promote , and increase the global distribution of the region's 
products.  WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  19. The Chair man opened the floor for questions or comments.  
20. The representative of Chinese Taipei  asked about t he future perspective of maritime 
transport and what further measures SVEs , like Jamaica,  needed to take to enhance their 
connectivity to global maritime transport chains.  
21. The representative of Guatemala  said that the program me under way in Jamaica appeare d 
to be ve ry ambitious and asked how the G overnment had organized its budget to undertake all the 
structural and infrastructural changes.  
22. Responding to the representative of Chinese Taipei, the representative of UNCTAD  said that 
measures that could be take n were privatizing port operations, which could help lower 
transportation costs, and enhancing connectivity.  
23. In answer to the question from the representative of Chinese Taipei, the representative of 
Jamaica  said that his country was trying to diversify i ts industry through a strategy that involved 
the creation of special economic zones to attract a wider range of industries. The industries were 
to be established in specific industrial clusters and would include transnational corporations. This 
would allow  interaction with domestic suppliers and create more business linkages with national 
SMEs.  
24. In regard to Guatemala's question  about the budget, he said the G overnment was creating a 
framework to attract investment from the private sector so that it could un dertake infrastructural 
improvements . The largest container port in the region, which also provided services to Central 
America, had also recently been privatized.  
(iii) Logistic Services and Maritime Transportation - Presentation by Panama  
25. The representa tive of Panama  said that her country played  a leading role in the global 
economy, not only as a logistics hub for the storage and distribution of international freight, but 
also as an important access route for passenger and goods traffic and in facilitati ng communication 
services.  The services sector accounted  for some 83 % of Panama's gross domestic product ( GDP) 
and generated  60% of all jobs. 
26. In order to promote its competitiveness and increase its exports, Panama had  stepped up its 
efforts to attract for eign investment in areas such as financial, transport, storage and 
communication services.  In general terms, the strong performance of the services sector in recent 
years could  be explained by Panama's openness to trade and by developments in the logistics  
field, where warehousing management had  moved from basic storage activities to complex 
operations , involving inventory management  and document management . Such activities actually 
added more value to products  which had to be shipped or stored . 
27. Panama had become a multimodal logistics hub by setting up a structure that offered a 
range of logistics capabilities. This structure allowed a single operator to manage the various 
procedures required in respect of a product from its country of origin to the country  of destination 
under the "one -stop-shop" concept. The representative explained that the logistics structure 
comprised flexible customs regulations,  special economic zones , high-level port infrastructure and 
logistics parks . There was also overland connect ivity between both Pacific and Atlantic ports  either 
by rail or via the Transi stmica highway , and air and  maritime connectivity through the Panama 
Canal . 
28. The special economic zones were segregated areas in strategic locations in the country. The 
firms that  set up in these zones received tax, immigration and labour benefits and were geared 
towards specific economic  activities. The main economic zones were  the Panama -Pacific Area 
which was  a hub for high -tech manufacturing, logistics services, commercial acti vities and 
non-traditional services and the Colón Free Trade Zone, a free trade zo ne that served  as a 
platform for the re -distribution of wholesale, duty -free goods from Asia, Europe and North America 
to Latin  America and the Caribbean.  
29. Regarding connectiv ity, the representative explained that Panama had  an extensive network 
of ports that offer ed a wide range of services for containerized, bulk, liquid and general cargo, and WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  for passengers in the country's cruise ship terminals . It currently had  about 33 po rts that provide d 
berthing and other related services for local users and cabotage purposes . Meanwhile, t he freight 
transp ort industry in Panama had diversified to comprise  three different sectors: long -distance 
haulier transport, urban freight transport a nd road transport in the main logistics areas between 
Colón  and Panama City . There was also railway coverage that handled  the loading and unloading 
of containers between the Atlantic and the Pacifi c. An average of 2,000 containers transported 
daily in both  directions, representing an annual traffic of approximately 650,000  units. The railway 
had a maximum capacity of up to two  million containers per year . Regarding air transport, Panama 
had one of the most advanced airport infrastructures in Latin America.  Tocum en International 
Airport handled  more than 360 flight operations a day.   
30. She explained that maritime connectivity was unquestionably the country's greatest asset.  
The Panama Canal connected  some 144 marit ime shipping routes. It connected  the Atlantic  and 
Pacific oceans through one of the narrowest points on the American continent . In 2015, the 
Panama Canal recorded a total of 13,874 transits of ocean going and shallow -draught commercial 
vessels, which transported 229  million tons of cargo and generate d US$1,994.2  million in toll 
revenues . Owing to rising demand on account of the population increase in the region, the 
re-distribution of shipping line networks and other cargo movements in the ports, Panama felt 
compelled to build a third  set of locks. Th e expanded canal was inaugurated in June 2016 and has 
doubled its capacity . Some 600 million tons of cargo are estimated to pass through the canal each 
year.   
31. The representative of Panama also explained that Panama  launched an initiative aimed at  
develop ing public policies that promote d the country as an international logistics hub for global 
trade. It focused  on the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing legal framework, 
logistical  processes and overall infrastructure.  The Inter-American Development  Bank provid ed 
Panama with technical cooperation to strengthen the institutional capacity of the logistics sector . It 
also conducted a study that identified Panama's strengths , as well as areas where the country 
needed  to become more competitive and consol idate its position as a logistics hub.  The study 
highlighted the need to improve and consolidate the legal framework  so that a comprehensive plan 
could be implemented for the medium and long term. The study also determined that there was a 
shortage of skil led labour.  Three areas were identified as needing further development:  
value-added logistics s ervices around the Panama Canal;  logistic support for the agricultural 
sector ; and logistic support for regional trade . Of these three areas, the agricultural s ector was the 
one requir ing the most extensive support. Here infrastructure wa s basic, with limited 
production -chain connectivity . This had led to inefficiency, high costs and loss of competitiveness . 
The study also identified areas of opportunity  and pote ntial such as value -added logistics services  
for the distribution of fuels , the regional distribution of pharmaceuticals  and specialized 
infrastructure for the distribution of vehicles . 
(iv) Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing and Role of Institutions in the 
Sector's Development (Section 3.2.2) – Presentation by ITC  
32. The representative from the ITC provided Members with a brief primer of the terminology 
used in the  sector. He explained that Information Technology Outsourcing  (ITO), Busine ss Process 
Outsourcing  (BPO) and Business Proc ess Management  (BPM) were terms used mainly by the 
private s ector. On the other hand, Information Technology Enabled Services  (ITES ) was used for 
project documents by the UN, the World Bank and NGOs. He explain ed that IT outsourcing was 
basically everything related with software development, maintenance, IT networks, IT consultancy 
and IT integration. BPO, sometimes also referred to as offshoring, describes the offering of 
business or government services abroad.  These can include sectors such as customer care, 
accounting and human resource management. Within BPO, other distinctions could be made such 
as Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)  which includes data-mining and patent research . 
33. In terms of market trends, he said that the current digital transformation process was now 
supported by such things as increased mobility and access opportunities. The development of the 
cloud for mobile storage and access had been a significant step , as was the fact that data 
applications were available online and no longer deployed locally. He added ITO and BPO market 
were important in size. The global value was estimated at US$450 billion. It was a growing sector 
which had only been affected by the financial crisis in a limited wa y. WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  34. The ITC representative explained that the top ten outsourcing destinations, rated by 
financial attractiveness, business environment , people skills and availability , were India, China, 
Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Mexico, Chile and  Poland.  There were several 
players in the ITO and BPO market s: providers such as Accen ture, HCL Technologies and Tata,  
customers like multinationals , SMEs and financial service and telecommunications providers . 
Others included  governments, international o rganizations and NGOs , consultants, brokers , 
analysts and industry associations.  
35. He used several examples to illustrate different aspects of the sector. First, he talked about 
strategy and used the Kosovo IT industry as an example. The industry had set its elf the goal of 
becoming the main driver for economic growth, employment and innovation by 2020, based on 
digital excellence. To accomplish this, it devised a strategy using eight pillars ranging from 
promotion and education to innovation, research and dev elopment ( R&D) and investment 
promotion. In order for the strategy to work, there had to be a collaboration of all relevant actors 
and a coordination of efforts and resources. A good example of this collaboration was Bulgaria 
where BASSCOM, a software deve lopment association, and the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association 
worked together in areas such as education and capacity building.  
36. Regarding positioning and branding, the ITC representative chose the case of Brazil, which 
had a systematic approach of present ing its national industry abroad. The use of press materials at 
outreach events helped make the brand recognizable around the world, thus driving the sector's 
export promotion as well as FDI.  
37. The Chair man opened the floor for comments but there were no req uests for the floor. Thus, 
he invited the last speaker to join him at the podium.  
(v) Software and Services in Sri Lanka – Presentation by Sri Lanka (Association of Software and 
Services Companies)  
38. A representative of the software industry of Sri Lanka  spoke about his country's experience 
regarding knowledge services. He explained that the IT and BPM sectors had set out in 2007 to 
become in a period of ten  years the first revenue earner for Sri Lanka in terms of exports. The 
target was to create a US$ billi on industry wi th 80,000 direct jobs. Some ten  years ago, revenue 
was at US$200 million. This had grown by 146%. The work force had tripled and new companies 
had been established, making the Knowledge Services Industries the fifth largest export earner in 
the country.  
39. The representative said the industry had new goals for 2022 of obtaining revenues of 
US$5 billion and creating up to 200,000 direct jobs. In order to accomplish these targets, the 
industry was trying to launch as many as 1 ,000 "start -up" compan ies. He added that a main goal 
was to move up the value chain in i ntellectual property  (IP) creation and KPO by moving from a 
cost focus to a value focus. He explained that many competitors were able to provide similar 
services at lower cost because they p aid lower wages. However, as Sri Lankan companies moved 
up the value chain, their competitive dynamics would change, along with their competitive 
advantages. This would lead to value addition, innovation, advanced skills, better soft 
infrastructure and a h igher quality of life. He explained that Sri Lanka was a small economy that 
could not compete in volume, so it had to compete in creating value addition.  
40. He added that one of the challenges his country faced was branding. While some of the 
business service  providers in Sri Lanka had links to the London Stock Exchange and even Ebay, 
they were not known for their expertise. Another challenge concerned capacity. In 2015 , there 
were only 6,000 graduates in IT and related fields. Now there was a push to build ne w universities 
and to have the private sector build the necessary infrastructure for education. The plan was to 
triple university capacity in this sector by 2020.  
41. The representative said that the next wave of growth would come from companies that were 
yet to be born. These companies would be created by entrepreneurs willing to build new business 
models in order to create new applications. To do this, they had a plan to launch 1,000 technical 
"start -ups" and build a new ecosystem which encompassed research, risk capital and mentoring. 
He added that it was important to take BPM to the country's rural areas, thereby avoiding heavy 
migration to the main cities.  WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  42. He explained that a challenge his country was facing was the loss of highly skilled expertise 
and labo ur to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the U nited Kingdom , Canada and the 
United States, all of which offered attractive migration programs for skilled IT professionals.  
43. The representative ended his presentation by saying that to become a true cen tre for 
knowledge services and business process outsourcing like Korea or Singapore, his country needed 
a complete change of mind -set and policy shift, from an agrarian economy to a technological one.  
44. The Chair man opened the floor for comments.  
45. The represe ntative from the software industry  of Sri Lanka  said that it was important to 
underscore the role of the IT industry in Sri Lanka. It was more than an industry and actually 
served as an enabler for other industries in the country. Together they would contr ibute to making 
Sri Lanka a logistic hub in Asia.  
46. The representative of Guatemala  asked how Sri Lanka was planning to increase the capacity 
of human resources , given that skills in the industry had to be high and had to be developed 
through time. She asked  whether Sri Lanka was looking to build new universities or if companies 
themselves would train the future employees?  
47. The representative of Sri Lanka  answered that there was a massive gap between education 
and what the IT industry required. His country had  worked with universities to make sure that the 
IT curriculum was in line with the industry's needs, and they had also set up internships and 
requested all companies to take 10% of their workforce as interns to give them one year training. 
They had also la unched a program me with one year industrial training to teach participants the 
hard and soft skills they would require in the industry. He emphasized that it had to be a joint 
effort between the industry and the academic sector.  
48. The representative of Parag uay asked what Sri Lanka was doing to avoid concentrating the 
development of the sector only in cities.  
49. The representative of Sri Lanka  explained that it was important to connect rural 
communities with sufficient infrastructure and appropriate education op portunities. The 
government had identified three regional cities which already had a university. Plans now called for 
building the ecosystems around these education centres and then encouraging companies to locate 
in those re gions. He added that, from the Government's point of view, the policy of 
decentralization was very important.  
(vi) Success Stories with Business Process Outsourcing and Information Technology Services – 
Presentation by Guatemala (AGEXPORT), Pre -Recorded Video Message  
50. Members also heard a pre-recorded presentation by a representative of the private sector of 
Guatemala . The representative of AGEXPORT explained how Guatemala's exports had diversified. 
For example, in 1986  there were 149 products, mainly traditional pr oducts such as coffee, bananas 
and sugar which accounted for 75% of exports. By 2015, there were more than 4,000 
non-traditional products such as textiles, manufactures and products from the primary or 
extractive sectors which totalled 75.4% of exports.  
51. The representative added that in 2015, 83.3% of exports were destined to countries with 
which Guatemala had commercial agreements. He explained that his association, AGEXPORT, the 
Guatemalan Association of Exporters, provided support services to its members. This took the 
form of development of export sectors, support and assistance in trade promotion and market 
access, training and b usiness development and programmes  to develop SMEs with export chains.  
52. He showed a detailed table of the association's organization by sectors: agricu lture and 
fishing, manufacture and services. The association was  now developing the services sector, which 
was further subdivided into software, digital development, contact centres, health and wellness 
tourism, sustainable tourism, laboratories, and more recently, services to exporters and the 
creative industry.  WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  53. Regarding ICT, his association was carrying out activities to enhance employee skills and 
was working with the academic sector and with private companies so that students could integrate 
into the l abour market as soon as possible. In tourism, the association was working on tourism 
value chains to upgrade and create new products and destinations for tourists and defining the 
best markets abroad in which to promote health and wellness tourism.  
54. The as sociation also provided services to the creative industry which was focusing on 
creating the Guatemala Film Commission. The aim was to promote the country as a location for 
film productions. As for contact centres and BPO, efforts had been able to maintain  special 
legislation that provided incentives, mostly fiscal, for investments in the sector. Work was now also 
underway on what was called the "Finishing School" where employees could improve their bilingual 
language skills.  
55. The representative explained th at his as sociation was working with the G overnment to 
strengthen Guatemala's export services industry. This was taking place mainly through a 
program me focussing on skills training in English, a strategy to attract potential investors, 
measures to extend c onnectivity via broadband and efforts to strengthen the country's image and 
brand. The main focus was on tourism, health and I CT services. There were also measures in place 
to strengthen the utilization of e -Commerce and to ensure better air connectivity a nd airport 
infrastructure.  
56. He explained that there were also efforts being made at the legislative level and that several 
initiatives had been put before Guatemala's congress such as a law for occupational inclusion 
which included flexible labour condition s, a law for the promotion of foreign languages and certain 
amendments to further build the tourism sector.  
57. He also pointed to challenges facing the services industry. Since there was a lack of financial 
institutions, access to capital was difficult and p laced limits on growth in various industrial sectors. 
Also, there was a need to generate venture capital initiatives in the region.  
58. He explained that in regard to government policies, there should be more matchmaking 
between local and international player s to generate business opportunities and partnerships. Small 
and medium -sized foreign companies could be invited to Guatemala to meet local enterprises 
interested in establishing partnerships. Tax and business incentives could also be created to attract 
investment. Furthermore, it was necessary to close the digital gap so as to be able to provide 
broadband services across the country. He also considered it necessary to start discussions about 
double taxation at the WTO as well as at the level of free trade agree ments.  As for innovation, the 
Government needed to help the services industry to develop new products that matched market 
trends, such as using new approaches in tourism that would allow tourists to participate and 
interact with rural communities. Re garding the certification of companies according to industry 
needs, he said that every effort should be made to better position the services industry, especially 
in the ICT sector, in international markets. Finally, speaking about work force skills, he sai d that 
there should be a dialogue between academia and enterprises. Universities were forming 
professionals but were not considering the skills the students would need to be productive 
immediately upon graduation. Training of bilingual employees was also i mportant as was 
certification of the workforce in specialized areas like accounting, law or software programming.  
59. In conclusion, the representative said  the market indicated that the G overnment should 
focus more on the services industries. Information was the oil of the 21st century. Big data and 
data mining could help companies get to know their consumers better. Also, software was the 
essential base of the economy. He highlighted that the services sector of small economies had an 
exponential growth potent ial that could overcome all types of barriers.  
60. The representative of Ecuador  took the floor to speak about its experiences , particularly in 
the fields of logistics and transport. In the last few years, Ecuador had significantly enhanced its 
road, maritime and air transport infrastructure. It had also started several internal reform 
processes which included customs procedures reform and the use of incentives to attract 
investment in order to increase the productivity of domestic producers. Nevertheless, thes e 
reforms had fallen short of their objectives because of external factors such as the trade costs of 
long distance transport. Shipping costs hampered the productivity of micro and small and medium -
sized enterprises. In Ecuador's view, a consolidation of c argo between small producers in the WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  maritime and air transport sectors would help reduce prices and make products more competitive. 
She said that her country  had to better integrate into world maritime and sea transport networks. 
Importing empty refrigerat ed containers and exporting empty dry containers added to trade costs. 
Another problem she highlighted was that Ecuador  was located in a very active trading region. This 
resulted in limited space for ships and also for cargo airplanes. As an alternative, t he 
representative proposed using the air infrastructure of some Caribbean countries as a sort of 
logistics hub to transport, for instance, flowers from Ecuador to the rest of the world. Open sky 
agreements and concessions of ports and airports to global op erators was another way to reduce 
shipping and transport charges and make Ecuadoran products more competitive.  
61. She expressed the view that the reforms envisage d by the implementation of the Trade 
Facilitation A greement were not enough to foster the integr ation of small economies into the global 
goods and services economy. The reforms could be useful in reducing domestic trade costs. 
Nevertheless, in order to help small economies integrate into GVCs , solutions must be found for 
the rest of the variables tha t were identified in the Secretariat's paper so as to adopt them 
simultaneously. In this regard, she believed that cooperation and capacity building through 
technical and financial assistance efforts should remain as a core pill ar of work so that the Nairo bi 
Mandate in favour of SVEs could be brought to fruition.  
62. The representative of El Salvador  took the floor to thank the speakers for their 
presentations. She said the presentations complemented the Secretariat's paper. She said it had 
been very useful for  Members to hear about the different initiatives that small economies were 
putting in place to integrate into world trade, as well as the various challenges they faced.  
63. The Dedicated Session took note  of all the interventions.  
C. MINISTERIAL DECISION  ON TH E WORK PROGRAMME O N SMALL ECONOMIES 
(WT/MIN(15)/40 – WT/L/975) – REDUCING TRADE COSTS  
(i) SVE Group Proposal to Advance Work on "Challenges Small Economies Experience in their 
efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in the area of Trade Facilitation" 
(WT/COMTD/SE/W/33)  
64. The Chairman recalled that during the meeting in July, Members had been encouraged to 
put forward proposals on how the work in the Dedicated Session should proceed. It was his 
understanding that the SVE's now had a proposal to advance wor k on the challenges s mall 
economies experienced in their efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in the area of Trade 
Facilitation. He request ed the C oordinator of the SVE's to introduce the proposal circulated as 
document WT/C OMTD/SE/W/33 on 24 Octobe r 2016.  
65. The representative of Guatemala , speaking on behalf of the small economies, said that the 
document contained a proposal to move forward on the Nairobi Ministerial Decision and tackle 
small economies' efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in t he area of trade facilitation. The 
proposal called for the Secretariat to carry out research based on statistics in the OECD/WTO joint 
publication published in 2015, Aid for Trade at a Glance. The study included questionnaires on how 
countries were address ing trade costs and the Secretariat was being asked to focus on the 
responses the SVEs had provided so as to identify specific issues and challenges. The proposal 
called for two meetings to be held to discuss trade costs. The first would focus on the most 
important sources of goods and services trade costs as reported by SVEs. The second would 
examine solutions and policy options for SVEs so that they could overcome the various challenges. 
Since it was useful to hear directly from government representatives  with expertise in the area of 
reducing trade costs , the proposal sought funding from the WTO's technical assistance and training 
budget.  She added that last minute consultations had been held with other interested Members in 
order to find agreement on th e various ideas being proposed and it was her hope that the proposal 
could be approved at the present meeting. The representative proceeded to introduce the changes 
at the behest of the Chair man. 
66. The representative of Norway  asked why the first session out lined in the proposal was 
devoted to SVEs and not small economies as such. She also noted that the proposal suggested 
that the WTO Secretariat finance  the costs of the participation and travel of two SVE 
representatives per session. This had budgetary impl ications so she asked the proponents to WT/COMTD/S E/M/33  
 
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  explain which source of funding they planned to use.  She added that since the question of funding 
was more an area for the expertise of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration , her 
delegation questioned w hether the Dedicated Session would be in a position to make such a 
decision. She also asked how t he proposal for funding related  to decisions made on the use of 
funding and activities already planned for in the ITTC 's work and the Aid -for-Trade W ork 
Progra mme. She said that her delegation stressed the need for any activity drawing on funds from 
the ITTC to be in line with the agreed results frameworks.  
67. The representative of Guatemala  explained that regarding the terminology, while the 
Program me was called W ork Program me on Small Economies, both that term and the term SVEs 
were used in the Doha Decision which created the Work Programme. The terms were also referred 
to at the WTO's Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. Regarding financing for the participat ion of 
small economies, she believed that this had always been done in different committees. She said 
that two of the presenters present at today's meeting had been funded based on the decision that 
had been taken at the last meeting, so her delegation did  not consider this to be an innovation. 
She said that they were only following the procedures that had been followed for this Committee. 
This had also been the basis for how the Committee had been operating at its last four or five 
meetings.  
68. A representati ve from the Secretariat  explained that for the last sessions, Members had 
been asked if outside experts from small economies could be brought to Geneva to provide their 
inputs. This was a procedure that had been agreed with the ITTC Director. Once the Memb ers 
agreed to do this in the Dedicated Session of the CTD, the ITTC would try to find funds for the 
experts. This had been reflected in the minutes of meetings and was a good way of working, but it 
meant working in advance. He added that the proposal now b eing discussed called for bringing 
outside speakers to Geneva for meetings to be held in 2017. Once approved by Members, the 
request would be transmitted to the ITTC so that it could plan and budget accordingly.  
69. The Chairman asked whether Members agreed on  the future work in the Dedicated Session 
as proposed by Guatemala.  
70. It was so agreed . 
71. The Chairman added that the proposal called  for two sessions to be held in the first 
semester of 2017. As had  been done for this meeting , as well as the one held last Jul y, two SVE 
representatives would  be invited to participate in each session as outside expert speakers. The 
Secretariat would , therefore, go ahead and secure funds with the ITTC,  as had been  done for the 
speakers today coming from Sri Lanka and Jamaica.  
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
72. The Chairman said that there had been no items raised under this item of the agenda and 
asked if any delegation wanted to raise an issue at that point. There were no requests for the 
floor. 
73. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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