RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/M/95  
 
30 July 2015  
(15-3952)  Page: 1/12  
Committee on Trade and Development 
Ninety-Fifth Session    
 
 NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 9 JUNE 2015 
CHAIRMAN: H.E. MR. JUAN ESTEBAN AGUIRRE MARTÍNEZ (PARAGUAY) 
A. ADOPTION OF TH E AGENDA .................................................................................... 2  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................. 2  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers  ................................................................. 2  
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, 
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Common 
Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) 
and the Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Developpement  ...................................................... 2
 
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ............................................................. 2  
-  Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training 2014 (WT/COMTD/W/209) ................. 2  
D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - WORK IN THE COMMITTEE ON THE BASIS OF 
THE CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDING STATEMENT FROM THE EIGHTH MINISTERIAL 
CONFERENCE (WT/MIN(11)/11) ..................................................................................... 5  
-  Committee on Trade and Development mandate: focal point for consideration and 
coordination of work on development in the WTO - proposal from Barbados, Belize, 
China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and th e African Group (W T/COMTD/W/208) .................................. 5  
-  Operationalization of the CTD's mandate: a proposal to deliver outcomes based on 
the MC8 mandate - proposal from China, Cu ba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
(WT/COMTD/W/192) ......................................................................................................... 6  
-  Committee on Trade and Development mandate: review of the application of S&D 
provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related Ministerial Decisions in favour of developing country Members - proposal from Ecuador (WT/COMTD/W/204) ........................... 6
 
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE .................................................... 7  
-  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notifica tion of Customs Union – communication 
from China, Egypt and In dia (WT/COMTD/ W/175) ................................................................. 7  
-  Notification of the Agreement on Trad e in Goods between the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea ......................................................................... 8  
-  Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India 
and Korea (Goods) ............................................................................................................ 9  
F. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR 
PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS .......................................................................... 9  
G. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE 
MARKET ACCESS TO LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ........................................................ 9  
H. OTHER BUSINESS .................................................................................................. 11  
 WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 
1. The Chairman said that the draft agenda for the 95th Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) was contained in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/3 circulated on 29 May 2015. He 
inquired whether any Member wished to add a matter under "Other Business". 
2. The representative of Japan said that her delegation wished to briefly inform Members under 
"Other Business" of recent simplifications to the preferential rules of origin in Japan's Generalized 
System of Preferences (GSP) scheme with respect to knitted apparel. 
3. The representative of the Philippines said that her delegation wished to make a brief 
intervention under "Other Business" concerning  the outcomes of the recent meeting of the 
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT).  
4. The agenda was adopted as amended. 
B. OBSERVERS 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 5. The Chairman recalled that, at previous sessions of the CTD, Members had agreed to invite 
a number of intergovernmental organizations on an  ad hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis. These were 
the Arab Maghreb Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Economic Community of West African States, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Inter-Arab 
Investment Guarantee Corporation, the Islami c Development Bank, the African Union, the 
Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the South Centre, the Pacific Islands Forum, the United Nations Environment Programme, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. These organiza tions had been invited to the present meeting. 
He proposed that the same organizations be invited to the next formal meeting of the CTD. 
6. It was so agreed. 
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observ er status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for 
Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Common Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the 
Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Developpement 
7. The Chairman said that the positions of delegations were on the record. He indicated that if 
there were no changes in positions to extend observer status for any of the applicants, the 
Committee would take note and revert to the requests at the next meeting. 
8. It was so agreed.  
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING 
- Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training 2014 (WT/COMTD/W/209) 
9. The Chairman said that the Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training for 2014 
was contained in document WT/COMTD/W/209. A corrigendum, in English only, was subsequently 
circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/209/Corr.1. He invited the Director of the Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) to introduce the report. 
10. The Director of the ITTC said that the report  contained three principal sections. There was 
firstly a section on the main evolutions in 2014 as compared to 2013. Another section looked at 
the main features of the technical assistance (TA) provided in 2014, while a third section was 
concerned with the monitoring and evaluation of performance. She indicated that a brief overview 
of the report would be provided at the present meeting, but Members could also discuss the report 
during the informal consultations that would be held to prepare the next Technical Assistance and 
Training Plan (TA Plan).  WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  11. Turning firstly to developments in 2014, she said that funding had not been an obstacle to 
the implementation of activities, even though a 30% decrease in contributions had been recorded 
in comparison to 2013. She explained that a subs tantial carry forward from 2013 had facilitated a 
smooth implementation of the activities. The overall volume of TA activities was 6% higher than in 
2013, and the number of regional and global activi ties increased by 9%. A total of 273 activities 
were delivered, and an additional 60 activities - TA activities organized by partners, as well as attendance by Secretariat staff at relevant conferences - were recorded. With respect to the 
implementation of the results-based management  (RBM) monitoring and evaluation system, she 
said that a new online back-to-office report had been introduced, together with two new electronic forms which were used to make TA requests. Work  had also begun on a new online registration 
system for participants in face-to-face activities. On the substantive content of the TA, she 
informed the Committee that a new e-learning platform allowed courses to be offered on mobile 
phones and tablets. Four new online courses were launched and, for the first time, seven Regional Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs) were held. In addition, a number of activities targeted at 
Geneva-based delegates were introduced, an d the WTO's cooperation with academia was 
intensified.   
12. With regard to the main features of the TA  delivered in 2014, she said that a total of 
14,700 participants were trained, which represented an increase of 7% over 2013. About 45% of 
the participants were women. The growth in th e number of participants was due to e-learning, 
which accounted for 52% of the total. As a point of comparison, she noted that, five years ago, only 25% of participants were trained through e-learning. Of the 273 activities organized in 2014, 
104 were global activities. Outside of Geneva, the most number of activities were organized in 
Africa. TA was predominately delivered through nati onal activities. In terms of subject coverage, 
91 of the activities had a general scope. Trade fa cilitation remained the most popular subject, 
followed by sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT). 
About 70% of the activities were delivered in En glish, 18% in French and 12% in Spanish. With 
regard to the Progressive Learning Strategy (PLS ), the highest number of activities was at the 
intermediate level. The Secretariat had been able to assign a PLS level to 83% of the activities. 
She explained that it was not possible to assign a PLS level to all the activities, since some did not fit into the PLS structure. In closing, she indica ted that a representative of the ITTC's Strategic 
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Section would provide an overview of the monitoring and 
evaluation section of the report. 
13. The representative of the Strategic Planning, Mo nitoring and Evaluation Section said that the 
approach being used for TA monitoring and evaluation was a mix of self-evaluation of the 
immediate results, complemented by some on-site evaluations. Longer-term results were assessed 
through ex-post programme evaluations, as well as  country reviews. External evaluations were 
also undertaken from time to time. In 2014, the focus of evaluations was on immediate results. 
The ITTC carried out two on-site evaluations - fo r the Advanced Trade Policy Course (ATPC), and 
for the RTPCs. With regard to e-learning, he informed the Committee that the average success rate was 61% for 2014. Although this was lower than in 2013, it was nevertheless still good by industry standards. Other indicators of success were stable. Due to the increase in the number of 
participants taking e-learning courses, a growth in the number of successful participants was 
registered. Turning to the RTPCs, he said that 97% of the candidates were successful. It was 
hoped that the recommendations that were made relating to the course objectives, the 
organization, the programme and the pedagogy would help to maintain and reinforce the quality of 
the RTPCs. With respect to other face-to-face activities, evaluations were based on the views of participants. On average, the rating was 4.6 out of 5 in terms of their views on objectives 
achieved. He also briefly noted the positive results of assistance provided in a number of other 
areas, including accessions, trade facilitation and the compilation of trade statistics. 
14. The representative of Benin expressed appreciation to the WTO for the TA activities, which 
he indicated were of a high quality. He stressed the importance of ensuring that individuals 
benefiting from TA were able to use their knowle dge during their careers, and to transmit it to 
others. He also noted the likely need for target ed TA to implement the outcomes of the Tenth 
Ministerial Conference (MC10).  
15. The representative of the European Union recalled her delegation's attachment to the WTO’s 
TA, which she indicated was of great importance in helping developing countries to fully integrate 
into the multilateral trading system. The WTO's continued focus on LDCs and on Africa was also 
reflected in the EU’s own TA priorities, notably in the context of Aid for Trade. Turning to the WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  report, she said that the EU welcomed the stabilization of resources. She recalled in this regard the 
EU's continued and stable contribution to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF). Noting that TA that supported negoti ating and implementation agendas reinforced the 
WTO, she welcomed the assertion in the report that TA in the area of trade facilitation was 
supportive of the ratification and implementation  of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).  
16. The representative of the United States said that his delegation had a few questions and 
observations on the report. He firstly noted that it was mentioned in paragraph 3.8 that no activity 
request was approved in 2014 without a clear defini tion of the objectives and a draft programme 
designed to achieve them. In this regard, he aske d for more clarity on the activity requests that 
were not approved as a result of the review proc ess. Turning to e-learning, he indicated that his 
delegation looked forward to seeing statistics on the four new online courses offered in 2014. He 
also observed from paragraph 5.5 that the aver age success rate in e-learning had fallen for the 
third year in a row. Although he had taken note of the Secretariat’s observation that this was still considered good by industry standards, his delegation remained interested in knowing what steps 
could be taken to improve student success. In addition, he indicated that the overall dropout rate 
had increased from 14% in 2013 to 17% in 2014.  Certain courses had significant dropout rates each year. In this regard, he asked what could be done to keep students in training. Finally, he 
expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for its work in recasting the ATPC.  
17. The representative of Montenegro expressed part icular appreciation for the assistance that 
had been provided to Montenegro during its accession to the Government Procurement 
Agreement. She also asked how the Secretariat pla nned to continue to respond to requests for TA 
in the trade facilitation area in a timely manner, given the high demand. Finally, she associated 
her delegation with the intervention by the EU. 
18. The representative of Lesotho expressed appr eciation for the WTO's TA activities. He 
believed that the assistance would help African countries to integrate more fully into the 
multilateral trading system. He also stressed the importance of continued assistance to African countries, including in the context of the implementation of outcomes from MC10. 
19. The representative of Norway emphasized th e importance of the 2014-2015 TA Plan as the 
basis for the TA activities during the biennium in a results-based framework. In this regard, her 
delegation wished to see more explicit linkages in future annual reports to the key results. She 
observed that, even though the biennium was no t over, it was nevertheless possible to provide 
insights as to whether the targets set in the TA Plan were being achieved. This would make it 
easier for Members to assess the results of the activities. 
20. The Chairman invited the ITTC to respond to the questions and comments from Members.   
21. The Director of the ITTC said that the activities requests that had not been approved in 2014 
were essentially related to requests from Secretariat staff to participate in conferences. With 
regard to the high demand for TA in the trade fa cilitation area, she said that the ITTC would be 
continuing to provide TA on trade facilitation, wh ile issues that fell under the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement Facility would be handled by the Market  Access Division. Finally, she indicated that the 
ITTC would look into the format of the TA A nnual Report to explore how the suggestions from 
Norway could be incorporated. 
22. The representative of the Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Section said that it 
was difficult to explain the declining success rate in e-learning. However, the ITTC was currently in 
the process of making the courses more interactive and introducing new features which it was 
hoped would make it easier for the participants to absorb the material. Another possibility that was 
being explored was to divide existing courses into a number of shorter courses. Shortening the courses could also contribute to lowering the dropout rate. 
23. The Committee took note of the Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training for 
2014, and of all interventions.  WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - WORK IN THE COMMITTEE ON THE BASIS OF THE 
CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDING STATEMENT FROM THE EIGHTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE (WT/MIN(11)/11) 
24. The Chairman recalled that, at the Eighth Mi nisterial Conference (MC8), Ministers had, 
inter alia , reaffirmed the positive link between trad e and development and called for focused work 
in the CTD. Ministers had called on Members to fully operationalize the mandate of the CTD as a focal point for development work. On the agenda for the present meeting were three submissions 
containing proposals for work under the MC8 mandate. The first submission, circulated in 
document WT/COMTD/W/208, contained a proposal by Barbados, Belize, China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group. After a consideration of this proposal, the Committee would turn to the remaining proposals in the submission by Ch ina, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
contained in document WT/COMTD/W/192, and in the submission by Ecuador contained in 
document WT/COMTD/W/204. 
- Committee on Trade and Development mandate: focal point for consideration and 
coordination of work on development in the WTO - proposal from Barbados, Belize, 
China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group (WT/COMTD/W/208) 
25. The Chairman recalled that the proposal co ntained in document WT/COMTD/W/208, which 
was for the CTD to report on development-related work taking place in the WTO, had been 
introduced and discussed at the last CTD meetin g. He invited the proponents to brief the 
Committee on the status of the proposal.  
26. The representative of Egypt said that the proponents were disappointed that they had not 
received positive reactions from some Members, even though efforts had been made to address 
the concerns that were raised on earlier versions of the proposal. The proponents had not had the opportunity to consult with Members since the last CTD meeting. However, if there was a 
willingness to consider the proposal, he suggested that informal consultations would be useful to 
move the process forward. 
27. The representative of Cameroon indicated his support for the intervention by Egypt. He 
expressed concern that Members had not been able  to make much progress on their discussions 
on the MC8 mandate. 
28. The representative of Benin expressed support fo r the intervention by Egypt. He emphasized 
the need to advance on the proposals on the table,  and called on the Chairman to hold informal 
consultations. 
29. The representative of the United States expressed his delegation's frustration with the state 
of the discussions on the proposals relating to  the MC8 mandate. He recalled that the US had 
raised concerns and asked specific questions on each of the proposals. With regard to the proposal 
presently under discussion, he said that it was not substantially different from earlier versions, and his delegation's concerns therefore remained. His delegation was willing to engage with the 
proponents on the proposal, to the extent that the US' concerns could be addressed. 
30. The representative of the European Union said that her delegation could not support the 
proposal in its current form, as it would give the CTD an oversight function on all aspects of the 
WTO's work. This was not in line with the Committee's mandate to act as a focal point on 
development issues and carry out focused work. She indicated that Members needed to debate 
what this focused work should be, and should not re-open the CTD's mandate. She nevertheless 
expressed her delegation's willingness to engage further. 
31. The representative of Canada said that his de legation had also previously expressed some 
concerns with the proposal. However, Canada was willing to participate in informal consultations, if 
the proponents were willing to engage on the substantive concerns that had been raised. 
32. The representative of Australia indicated that his delegation, like others, had some concerns 
with the proposal in the way that it was currently formulated. He expressed his delegation's 
willingness to participate in informal consultations, if the proponents were willing to engage.   WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  33. The Chairman encouraged the proponents to consult with other delegations. He said that he 
would also look into holding informal consultations to try to move forward on the proposal. 
34. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
- Operationalization of the CTD's mandate: a proposal to deliver outcomes based on the 
MC8 mandate - proposal from China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
(WT/COMTD/W/192) 
35. The Chairman said that, while there were th ree proposals in document WT/COMTD/W/192, 
the first two proposals had already been addressed by the Committee. The first proposal, which 
was for the Secretariat to prepare an update to its paper on the implementation of special and 
differential treatment (S&D) provisions in the WTO Agreements and Decisions, had been agreed to 
by the Committee at its 87th Session. The updated Secretariat paper was circulated in June 2013 
and had appeared on the CTD's agenda for a numb er of meetings. As for the second proposal, 
which was for the CTD to report on development work in the WTO, it had been confirmed at the last CTD meeting that this idea was now being dealt with in the proposal contained in document 
WT/COMTD/W/208 which had been discussed under  the previous sub-item. The remaining 
proposal in document WT/COMTD/W/192 was for the CTD to make a recommendation for parties to regional trade agreements (RTAs) to submit their notification and information requirements 
jointly. He invited the proponents to brief Members on the status of this proposal. 
36. The representative of Egypt said that the proposal addressed a problem that the CTD was 
facing, which concerned the RTAs notified under both the Enabling Clause and GATT Article XXIV. 
He emphasized that the proposal had been draf ted in terms of a recommendation, and expressed 
disappointment that Members had still not been able  to move forward on it. He suggested that the 
proposal could be discussed during the informal consultations that the CTD Chairman would be 
convening.  
37. The Chairman encouraged the proponents to consult with other delegations. He also noted 
the request for the proposal to be discussed during his informal consultations.    
38. The Committee took note of the interventions. 
- Committee on Trade and Development mandate: review of the application of S&D 
provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related Ministerial Decisions in favour of developing country Members - proposal from Ecuador (WT/COMTD/W/204) 
39. The Chairman said that the proposal from Ecuador, circulated in document 
WT/COMTD/W/204, was for the Secretariat to periodically update its paper on the implementation 
of S&D provisions. Some questions had been rais ed by Members on the proposal, and Ecuador had 
provided some responses. He invited Ecuador to brief Members on the status of the proposal. 
40. The representative of Ecuador said that his delegation had not had the opportunity to 
engage with other Members for some time, but work on this matter would resume shortly. He also 
requested the Chairman to hold informal consultations on the proposal to help advance the 
discussions. 
41. The representative of the United States said that his delegation had raised questions and 
expressed concerns with the proposal. He recalled that, at the last CTD meeting, the US had 
indicated its willingness to meet in a small group with Ecuador and other interested Members to 
learn more about Ecuador’s specific concerns and how they would be addressed by the proposal.  
He reiterated his delegation's willingness to part icipate in such a discussion, and expressed hope 
that Members would be able to reach an agreement on how to proceed. 
42. The representative of the European Union recalled that her delegation had also raised a 
number of questions on the proposal, including with regard to the frequency of the proposed 
updates to the Secretariat document and the link  with the Monitoring Mechanism on S&D. She 
indicated that her delegation was willing to participate in informal consultations to discuss the 
proposal. WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  43. The Chairman encouraged Ecuador to consult with delegations. He also noted the request for 
him to hold informal consultations on the proposal. 
44. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE 
45. The Chairman said that he wished to provide Members with a brief update on the RTAs 
notified under the Enabling Clause that were to be considered in the CTD's Dedicated Sessions on 
RTAs. With regard to the Agreement between th e Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and 
India, he informed the Committee that the Secretariat had received comments from India on the 
draft factual presentation which was sent to the parties, but was still waiting to receive comments from ASEAN. The Secretariat was also still waiting to receive comments from the parties on the draft factual presentations relating to the In dia-MERCOSUR Agreement, and the accession of 
Rwanda and Burundi to the East African Community. For a number of other RTAs - namely, RTAs 
between India and Nepal, India and Afghanistan, India and Bhutan, and Cuba and El Salvador - 
the full set of data needed to complete the factual presentations had not been submitted by the 
parties. He urged the parties to these agreements  to provide the data as soon as possible. He 
went on to say that there remained one RTA noti fied under the Enabling Clause that had not been 
ratified by all the parties. This was the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA). 
Following the procedures of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), a factual 
presentation of an RTA falling in this category would only be drafted after the Agreement had been 
ratified by all the parties. The parties to PICTA were urged to inform the Secretariat as soon as all ratifications were complete. 
46. The Committee took note of the Chairman's update. 
- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notification of Customs Union – communication from 
China, Egypt and India (WT/COMTD/W/175) 
47. The Chairman said that the first sub-item und er the present agenda item concerned the GCC 
Customs Union notification. The sub-item also referred to the communication from China, Egypt 
and India which was circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/175. 
48. The representative of Egypt said that systemic concerns had been raised by some Members, 
including Egypt, over the legal and procedural implications of the dual notification of the GCC 
Customs Union under both the Enabling Clause and GATT Article XXIV. He noted that a number of delegations had previously expressed the view that the Enabling Clause did not provide the 
appropriate legal basis to justify the formation of a customs union involving the reduction or 
elimination of non-tariff measures (NTMs). However, others had argued that the non-prescription of criteria or conditions for the elimination of NTMs did not exclude customs unions among 
developing countries from the coverage of the Enab ling Clause. The view of his delegation was that 
the CTD was the appropriate forum to consider the questions arising from RTAs with a dual notification. This originated from the CTD's terms of reference, which stipulated that the CTD was 
the focal point for the consideration and coordina tion of work on development in the WTO. In 
addition, paragraph 4 of the terms of reference mandated the CTD to consider any questions with regard to either the application or the use of special provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related Ministerial Decisions in favour of developing country Members, which 
included questions relating to the invocation of the Enabling Clause to notify customs unions 
among developing countries. He hoped that Members could have a substantive discussion on the systemic concerns that had been raised. The pres ent sub-item needed to be maintained on the 
CTD's agenda until a solution was found.
1 
49. He noted that the proposal discussed under the previous agenda item, which was for the 
CTD to make a recommendation for parties to RTAs to submit their notification and information 
requirements jointly, had been put forward by the pr oponents in an effort to find a solution to the 
problem of RTAs with a dual notification. Finally, he requested that the three sub-items under the present agenda item remain on the CTD's agenda. 
                                               
1 The points in this paragrap h, made by Egypt at the 90th Session and also reflected in the minutes of 
the 92nd and 93rd Sessions, are reflected once again in the minutes of this meeting at the request of the 
Egyptian delegation. WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  50. The representative of the United States said that his delegation continued to have concerns 
with the present sub-item being listed on the ag enda. The sub-item had fulfilled its purpose of 
informing Members of the notification made, and needed to be removed from the agenda. He regretted that this issue had taken so much of the Committee’s time over the past few years, and 
observed that these were the types of issues that  took time, resources, and attention away from 
other pressing developing matters. The US had stated its position on this issue clearly and there was no need to rehash those points at the present meeting. He expressed hope that Members 
could move forward constructively, recognizing that the GCC Customs Union was not an issue of 
dual notification, but rather something to be addressed in the CRTA under the Transparency 
Mechanism for RTAs. His delegation looked forward to the transparency review of the GCC Customs Union in the CRTA. 
51. The representative of the European Union said that her delegation wished to reiterate that 
the present agenda item served the purpose of informing Members of the notifications of trade 
agreements and preferential schemes notified und er the Enabling Clause since the previous CTD 
meeting. Her delegation also wished to reiterat e the need to clarify the legal and procedural 
questions arising from an agreement being notified by each party under a different legal provision. 
With reference to the three notifications in question, she indicated that the EU was open to discuss 
a pragmatic solution, if this would allow Members to solve the matter and put it behind them. She 
noted, however, that there was a need to make a clear distinction between the notifications of the 
ASEAN-Korea Agreement and the India-Korea Agreem ent on the one hand, and the notification of 
the GCC Customs Union on the other. Furthermore, a more substantive discussion beyond the 
pragmatic solution would have to take place in the Negotiating Group on Rules (NGR). In that 
context, Members would need to address the issu e of a notification being possible under two 
different legal provisions.   
52. The representative of India expressed support for the intervention by Egypt. He indicated 
that his intervention related to the three sub-it ems under the present agenda item, since the three 
RTAs referenced in these sub-items had been "dua lly notified" under both the Enabling Clause and 
GATT Article XXIV. He noted that the systemic co n c e r n s  t h a t  w e r e  r a i s e d  b y  C h i n a ,  E g y p t  a n d  
India on the dual notification of the GCC Custom s Union were relevant even now, but remained 
unaddressed. Some Members had expressed the view that the systemic concerns raised in document WT/COMTD/W/175 were outside the scope  of the CTD and needed to be discussed in 
the NGR. The view of his delegation was that the CTD was the appropriate forum to consider the 
questions arising from RTAs with a dual notifica tion. In concluding, he requested that the three 
sub-items under the present agenda item remain  on the CTD's agenda until the systemic and 
specific concerns arising from "dually notified" RTAs were addressed.   
53. The Committee took note of all interventions.   
- Notification of the Agreement on Trade in  Goods between the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea 
54. The Chairman said that the second sub-item under the present agenda item concerned the 
notification of the ASEAN-Korea Agreement. 
55. The representative of Korea indicated that his intervention related to the second and third 
sub-items under the present agenda item. He said that the issues surrounding the ASEAN-Korea 
Agreement and the India-Korea Agreement had been  pending in the CTD for several years. Korea 
wished to reiterate its position with regard to the notifications of these two RTAs. He observed that 
Korea notified its RTAs under GATT Article XXIV, and that all RTAs - including RTAs between 
developing countries - could be notified under this  provision. However, a notification under GATT 
Article XXIV did not undermine the authority of the CTD or the Enabling Clause. Despite his 
delegation's position on this matter, he indicated that Korea was open to any proposal which could 
contribute to finding a solution.  
56. The representative of the United States said that his delegation continued to have concerns 
with the present sub-item being listed on the CTD' s agenda. The sub-item had fulfilled its purpose 
of informing Members of the notifications made, and needed to be removed from the agenda. The 
issue of dual notifications was directly linked to  the functioning of the Transparency Mechanism for 
RTAs and went beyond just the CTD. WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  57. The representative of the European Union said that her delegation's intervention under the 
first sub-item applied to the three sub-items under the present agenda item. 
58. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
- Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India 
and Korea (Goods) 
59. The Chairman said that the third sub-item under the present agenda item concerned the 
notification of the India-Korea Agreement. 
60. The representative of the United States indicated that his intervention under the second 
sub-item, concerning the notification of the ASEAN-Korea Agreement, applied equally to the 
notification of the India-Korea Agreement. 
61. The representative of India said that his dele gation's intervention under the first sub-item 
applied to the three sub-items under the present agenda item. 
62. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
 
F. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM FOR PREFERENTIAL 
TRADE ARRANGEMENTS 
63. The Chairman said that he wished to pr ovide Members with a brief update on the 
preferential trade arrangements (PTAs) that we re to be considered in the CTD's Dedicated 
Sessions on PTAs. He firstly informed the Committee that Chile's duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) scheme for least developed countries (LDCs) would be considered at the CTD's 2
nd Dedicated 
Session on PTAs, which would be held on 9 June 2015. With regard to four other PTAs notified 
since the establishment of the Transparency  Mechanism for PTAs - namely, PTAs being 
implemented by China, India, the Russian Federati on and Chinese Taipei - the Secretariat had still 
not received the full set of data required for the preparation of the factual presentations. He urged 
the notifying Members to provide the data as soon as possible. 
64. The Committee took note of the Chairman's update.   
 
G. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA-FREE MARKET 
ACCESS TO LEAST DE VELOPED COUNTRIES 
65. The Chairman said that an item concerning DFQF market access for LDCs had been on the 
CTD's agenda since early 2006. Under this item, delegations had provided information on the steps 
they were taking, or had already taken, to provide DFQF market access to LDCs. Written 
communications by some Members had also been considered. 
66. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that LDCs had not yet 
been meaningfully integrated into the multilateral  trading system. Additional efforts were therefore 
needed to provide them with adequate market opportunities, which would ultimately help them to achieve their overarching goals of economic gr owth and poverty reduction. Full and timely 
implementation of the DFQF-related Decisions, co upled with simplified, flexible, transparent and 
predictable rules of origin, would help to integrate LDCs into the multilateral trading system. He noted that the CTD continued to annually review the steps taken by Members to provide DFQF market access to LDCs, as per the Bali Decision on this matter. With regard to the post-Bali work 
program, he said that this was to, inter alia , build on the decisions taken on LDC issues at Bali. 
Issues in the Bali Package where legally binding outcomes could not be achieved would be prioritized. He noted that the Bali DFQF Decision  represented a best-endeavour outcome, and was 
intended to make progress on the issue prior to the conclusion of the Doha Round. The successful 
conclusion of the Round would result in the full implementation of the Hong Kong DFQF Decision, 
which was for LDCs to have at least 97% DFQF co verage as part of the single undertaking.   WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  67. Referring to the findings of a recent Secret ariat report, he noted that most developed 
countries and a number of developing countries had extended DFQF market access to LDCs with various degrees of coverage and range. While ac knowledging the progress made, he also indicated 
that gaps remained which needed to be addressed. Furthermore, the LDCs had not seen much 
effort to improve DFQF coverage, as instructed by Ministers at Bali. He recalled that the General 
Council was required to report to MC10 on the implementation of the Bali DFQF Decision, including any recommendations. The LDCs believed that making DFQF a legally binding obligation needed to 
be one of the priorities for MC10.  The improvement of preferential rules of origin in line with the 
Bali Decision on this matter, the removal of NTMs, as well as capacity building, the strengthening of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the mobilization of more Aid for Trade also 
needed focused attention. The LDCs were of the view that these issues, among others, needed to 
be inherent components of the post-Bali work program. 
68. The representative of Cambodia associated his delegation with the intervention by 
Bangladesh. He stressed the importance of granting DFQF market access to LDCs, in particular on 
products of export interest to them. In this li ght, he called on developed country Members that 
had not yet achieved the 97% mark to improve their coverage for LDCs, as outlined in the Bali DFQF Decision. He also expressed appreciation to the developing countries that had established 
DFQF schemes for LDCs, and encouraged others to follow these efforts. Finally, he indicated that 
the full implementation of the Hong Kong and Bali DFQF Decisions would allow the Doha Round to conclude in a meaningful way, ensuring sustainabl e development in LDCs and lifting millions out of 
poverty.   
69. The representative of Benin associated his delegation with the statement by Bangladesh and 
noted that the LDCs were still waiting for the full implementation of the Hong Kong DFQF Decision. 
He expressed appreciation to those Members that were already granting DFQF market access in 
line with this Decision, and invited other Members to do so as well. 
70. The representative of Bangladesh said that, in spite of two Ministerial Decisions on DFQF 
market access for LDCs, there had been little progress in DFQF coverage in certain markets. The 
LDCs believed that there was a need for a dedicate d session of the CTD on the implementation of 
the Bali DFQF Decision, with a view to realizing the commitment that Members had undertaken to provide DFQF market access to LDCs' products. He said that the proposal for a dedicated session was recently made by Lesotho at a Green Room meeting. All key delegations were present, and no 
objections were raised. Bangladesh, as the LDC Coordinator, had supported the request. He 
believed that a dedicated session of the CTD woul d provide an opportunity to discuss the state of 
p l a y  o n  D F Q F  m a r k e t  a c c e s s ,  a n d  t o  c o n s i d e r  w h a t  c o u l d  b e  d o n e  t o  b u i l d  o n  t h e  B a l i  D F Q F  
Decision, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. The work in the CTD would then be 
reported to the General Council, with the possibility of recommendations going to MC10. 
71. The representative of Nepal associated his dele gation with the intervention by Bangladesh, 
and supported the idea of holding a dedicated se ssion of the CTD on DFQF implementation. He 
said that DFQF was one of the important initiatives taken in favour of LDCs at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. This was reaffirmed and further streamlined by Ministers in Bali in December 2013. Reca lling elements of the Hong  Kong and Bali DFQF De cisions, he noted that 
DFQF was perhaps the most effective policy measure taken in support of LDCs to ensure market 
access for their products and enhance their compet itiveness. However, although the number of 
dutiable lines for LDCs' products in most of the developed and some developing country markets 
was narrowing down, DFQF implementation remained mixed. Some countries or groups had taken 
the lead by extending the range of coverage, but others had not yet reached the 97% DFQF threshold for all LDCs. Many important items of ex port interest to LDCs were still not covered 
under preferential schemes, and some schemes di scriminated among LDCs' products. In addition, 
stringent rules of origin procedures constrained the capacity of LDCs to fully enjoy the benefits of 
DFQF market access, leading to low utilization rates and further marginalization. 
72. He indicated that, in light of the LDCs' relati vely small share in global trade, there was a 
need for the full and faithful implementation of the DFQF-related Decisions by all developed 
Members, as well as those developing country Members in a position to do so. There was also a need for accelerated and targeted technical and financial support to LDCs to enhance their export 
competitiveness. In this regard, he expressed particular appreciation to the developing countries 
that had notified their DFQF schemes. He also observed that LDCs continued to face market access problems due to tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Th ey were additionally challenged by internal and WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  external constraints, and particular vulnerab ilities. Despite some of the achievements and 
improvements observed, the expansion of market access still remained problematic, due to the non-binding nature of DFQF. In this light, he believed that it was pertinent to hold a dedicated session of the CTD in order to allow Members to explore how the Hong Kong and Bali DFQF 
Decisions could be fully operationalized and made legally binding. The dedicated session would 
also provide the opportunity for LDCs and prefer ence granting countries to exchange views on 
expanding DFQF coverage and overcoming challenges associated with utilization, so as to allow the 
DFQF-related Decisions to achieve the intended results for LDCs. Finally, he shared his delegation's 
view that making DFQF a legally binding obligation needed to be one of the agenda items for MC10, and had to therefore be well refl ected in the post-Bali work programme. 
73. The representative of Lesotho recalled that his delegation had made the proposal for a 
dedicated session on DFQF implementation at a recent Green Room meeting. He explained that 
the DFQF issue had been outstanding for quite some time, and a dedicated session of the CTD could help Members move forward. He observed that there were certain sensitivities associated 
with the matter, and he hoped that the issues that had been blocking the process over the years 
could be addressed during the dedicated session, so that there could be a result at MC10. He noted in this regard that it was important to take into account all relevant mandates that had been 
given by Ministers. He also emphasized the need to achieve the intended results envisaged 
through the granting of DFQF market access to LDCs, including by ensuring that economies and livelihoods improved, and that LDCs were better in tegrated into the multilateral trading system.  
74. The representative of the United States said that his delegation was not in a position to 
react immediately to the request for a dedicated session of the CTD. He inquired whether the 
proponents could make a written submission ou tlining what they envisaged the agenda and 
objectives of the dedicated session would be. He also indicated that the US would be willing to 
participate in any informal consultations convened by the Chairman to discuss the request. 
75. The representative of Bangladesh requested clarification from the Chairman on the way 
forward with respect to the request for a dedicated session. 
76. The Chairman invited the proponents of a dedi cated session to submit their proposal in 
writing. He would then hold informal consultations to explore how to move forward on the matter.    
77. The Committee took note of all interventions. 
 
H. OTHER BUSINESS 
78. The representative of Japan indicated that her delegation wished to inform Members of 
simplifications to the preferential rules of origin in Japan's GSP scheme with respect to knitted 
apparel. She said that Japan had simplified the GSP rules of origin for Chapter 61 of the 
Harmonized System, so that products classified under this chapter qualified as originating goods when manufactured from fabrics. Japan hoped that  this measure, which entered into force on 
1 April 2015, would increase the trade of applicable goods from developing countries, and would 
contribute to their integration into the multilateral trading system. A formal notification would be made to the CTD shortly.   
79. The representative of Bangladesh expressed ap preciation for the simplifications that had 
been made to the rules of origin in Japan's GSP scheme. 
80. The representative of the Philippines said that his delegation wished to report on the 
outcomes of the recent APEC MRT meeting held in Boracay. He informed the Committee that, in 
May 2015, APEC Ministers had endorsed, and agreed to recommend to APEC leaders, the adoption 
of the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). This initiative was being advanced in recognition of the fact that MSMEs were an important force for 
economic activity, growth, job creation, community resilience and innovation in many developing 
countries. To promote the internationalization of MSMEs and integrate them into global value chains, Ministers had agreed to address barriers to trade and investment that disproportionately impacted MSMEs relative to larger businesses.  In  this regard, he highlighted trade facilitation, 
trade finance, e-commerce and institutional support as priorities for cooperation. He also listed a WT/COMTD/M/95 
 
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  number of areas for action from the Boracay Action Agenda, and noted that these initiatives were 
aimed at addressing the cross-cutting concerns of  MSMEs. In conclusion, he indicated that his 
delegation would welcome discussions in future CTD meetings with a view to widening and deepening the involvement of MSMEs in global trade. 
81. The meeting was adjourned. 
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