RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/M/106  
 
2 November  2018 
(18-6919) Page: 1/17 
Committee on Trade and Development  
106th Session    
 
  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 5 JULY  2018 
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Diego Aulestia (Ecuador)  
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA ................................ ................................ ....................  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 
Organisation of 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 Développement  ................................ ................................ ... 3 
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N AND TRAINING  ................................ .............................  3 
- Annual Performance Report on Technical Assistance and Training  2017  
(WT/COMTD/W/235)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  3 
D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMEN T – WORK IN THE COMM ITTEE ON THE BASIS O F THE 
CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDIN G STATEMENT FROM THE  EIGHTH MINISTERIAL  
CONFERENCE (WT/MIN(1 1)/11)  ................................ ................................ .....................  8 
- 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)  ................................ ............  8 
- 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)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  8 
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  ................................ ..................  12 
- Implementation of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements –  
Status Report on the Committee's Work  ................................ ................................ ............... 12 
(I) Notifications received pursuant to Enabling Clause (Paragraph 4(a))  ................................ 12 
-  Notification of Regional Trade Agreement – Submitted by Argentina, Brazil,  Chile,  
Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay (WT/COMTD/N/53)  ................................ ................................ 12 
(II) Questions from the United States to the delegations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, 
Paraguay and Uruguay regarding document WT/COMTD/N/53 (WT/REG/W/126 – 
WT/COMTD/W/232)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 12 
(III)  Status of the preparation of factual presentations – Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/W/23 6) ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 13 
- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Notification of Customs Union – Communication from  
China, Egypt and India (WT/COMTD/W/175)  ................................ ................................ ......... 13 
- Notification of the Agreement on Trade in Goods between the Association of Southeast  
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea  ................................ ................................ ........................ 13 
- Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and  
Korea (Goods)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 14 WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  F. TEMPLATE FOR NOTIFYI NG CHANGES TO AN EXI STING REGIONAL TRADE  
AGREEMENT – PROPOSAL  BY THE COMMITTEE ON  REGIONAL TRADE AGRE EMENTS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR T RADE I N GOODS, THE COUNCIL  FOR TRADE IN SERVIC ES  
AND THE COMMITTEE ON  TRADE AND DEVELOPME NT (WT/REG/28)  .............................  15 
G. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE T RANSPARENCY MECHANIS M FOR PREFERENTIAL 
TRADE ARRANGEMENTS  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 15 
- Implementation of the Transparency Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements – 
Status Report on the Committee's Work  ................................ ................................ ............... 15 
-  Status of the preparation of factual presentations  – Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/W/237)  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 15 
H. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKE N TO PROVIDE DUTY -FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MA RKET 
ACCESS TO LEAST DEVE LOPED COUNTRIES ................................ ................................ .... 16 
I. WORK PROGRAMME ON EL ECTRONIC COMMERCE  ................................ .................  16 
J. DATE OF THE NEXT MEE TING ................................ ................................ .................  16 
K. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 16 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA 
1. The Chairman  indicated that he wished to say a few words about the work of the Committee 
on Trade and Development (CTD) going forward. He noted that there were several items that had 
remained on the CTD's agenda  for many years , and that Members had divergent views on certain 
issues. While he appreciated that some Members might have interests or concerns in particular 
areas, and might therefo re wish for items to be maintained on the agenda, he also felt that it would 
be useful to find ways to update the agenda  – including  by potentially adding  new issues to discuss, 
or leaving some elements behind. His intention was  to hold consultations with Members after the 
summer break , in order to explore what could be done to update the CTD agenda and reinvigorate 
the work  of the Committee . Turning to the agenda for the present meeting, he said that the proposed 
agenda for the 106th Session of the CTD was  contained in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/14/Rev.1 , 
circulated on 25 June 2018. He also indicated that he wished to make a brief intervention under  
"Other Business" concerning the recent Secretariat publication titled "Mainstreaming Trade in the 
Sustainable Dev elopment Goals".  
2. The agenda was adopted  as amended.  
B. OBSERVERS   
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers  
3. The Chairman  recalled that, at previous sessions of the CTD, Members had agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad hoc meeting -by-meeting basis. These were the  
Arab Maghreb Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Econom ic Community 
of West African States, the Economic Cooperation Organization , the Inter -Arab Investment 
Guarantee Corporation, the Islamic Development Bank, the African Union, the Organization  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 organizations had been invited to the present meeting. He proposed that the 
same organizations be invited  to the next formal meeting of the CTD.  
4. It was so agreed . 
5. The Chairman  said that, in line with his intention to work with Members to try and update the 
CTD agenda, he wished to make an observation about the organizations that were granted ad hoc 
observer status on a meeting -by-meeting basis. In particular, he noted that the Committee had 
been granting ad hoc observer status to these organizations for many years now  – in several cases 
since 1999. As Members were agreeable to inviting these organizations to each CTD meeting, he 
asked the Committee  whether it c ould consider granting permanent observer status to these 
organizations . If this was possible, then the Committee would not have to revisit the issue of ad hoc WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  observers at each meeting, and this matter could be removed from the CTD agenda. He appreciated 
that d elegations would need time to consider his question , and requested any Member that had any 
difficulty in granting permanent observer status to these organizations – or any specific organizations 
in the list – to inform him before the next CTD meeting . He referred Members to document 
WT/COMTD/W/22/Rev.8 - which contained the most recent list of organizations with observer status 
in the CTD, as well as  those which were granted ad hoc observer status o n a meeting by meeting 
basis – and indicated that he would return to this matter at the next meeting . 
6. The Committee took note  of the Chairman's intervention.      
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer status by the Le ague of Arab States, the 
Organis ation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial 
Consulting, the Organi sation Internationale de la Francophonie , the Common Fund for 
Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and t he 
Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement  
7. The Chairman  said that he had some observations to make under this sub -item as well, since 
the listed  requests for observer status in the CTD had been pending for many years , and he was not 
even sure whethe r the organizations in question were still interested in being granted observer 
status in the Committee . For this reason , he intended to write to these organizations, and ask them 
whether there was still interest on their side in this regard. He would repo rt back to the Committee 
on the responses receive d. He also believed that it was important for Members to once again consider 
their positions vis-à-vis each one of these requests , since i t had been so long since the original 
requests from these organizations were submitted. Accordingly , he invited Members to consider 
whether they would be in a position to grant observer status to the listed organizations, or at least 
to some of them. He ad ditionally requested any Member having difficulty in granting observer status 
to these organizations – or any specific organizations in the list – to let him know before the next 
meeting , when he would return to this matter.  
8. The representative of the United States  asked if a Chair 's note could be provide d on the points 
made by the Chairman on observer issues . She explained that, in light of the importance of these 
issues, it was preferable to have the points in writing.  
9. The Chairman  said that it would not be a problem to  put the points  he made  in writing . 
10. The Committee took not e of the interventions.  
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N AND TRAINING  
- Annual  Performance Report on Technical Assistance and Training 2017 
(WT/COMTD/W/235)  
11. The Chairman  said that, according to its terms of reference  (TORs) , the C TD had a mandate 
to provide guidelines for, and to review periodically, the technical cooperation activities of the WTO 
as they relate d to developing country Members . The agenda for the present meeting cont ained an 
item relating to  the Annual Performance Report on Technical Assistance and Training for 2017 , which 
was circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/235. He invited a representative of the Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) to introduce the annual report. It was his understanding 
that the ITTC representative would also take the opportunity to briefly demonstrate how to access 
information relating to technical assistance ( TA) from the WTO website.  
12. The representative of the ITTC said that the annual report was structured around three 
principal sections. The first section presented the main developments in TA in 2017 compared to the 
previous year. Another section addressed the implementation of the Biennial Technical Assistance 
and Training Plan (TA Plan) and the main features of the TA provided in 2017 , while a  third section 
looked at the evaluation of performance in 2017 and laid out some lessons learn ed. As part of his 
summary of the main developments in 2017, he observed that s ignificant progress was registered  
in the implementation of the 28 recommendations formulated in the report of the external evaluation  
of the WTO's TA, which had been considered by the Committee at its 101st Session . In particular, by 
the end of 2017, half  of the recommendations were considered as already implemented  – to a large 
extent through the preparation of the TA Plan for the 2018-2019 period – while the implementation WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  of another 29% was in progress. In light of the tight management policy implemented by the 
Secretariat , the volume of TA activities and related expenses remained stable for the sixth 
consecutive year . However, because of the continued decrease in TA resources , the Secretariat had 
been obliged to tap into its financial reserves . Work on the implementation of a TA management 
system based on results  continued in 2017 . An audit of the TA workflows and information system 
was completed, leading to a number of improvements, such as a diversification of the TA workflows, 
preparatory wo rk for the development of a new TA management system and the development of 
new dashboards on the TA provided by the Secretariat.  Work also continued to improve and enrich 
the substantive content of the TA offer  through,  inter alia , the revision of several  existing online 
courses, the selection of a new cloud -based e -learning platform for implementation in 2018, and the 
deepening of the holistic approach to subjects like public health, e -commerce and standards.  
13. Turning to the implementation of the TA Plan,  he informed the Committee that 261 activities 
were delivered in 201 7, and the Secretariat was also involved in 54 other activities. A total of 
18,200  participants were trained , represen ting a decrease  of 2% compared to 2016. Participation in 
online course s increased by 12%, with close to two -thirds of participants in TA activities being  trained 
online. About 46% of the participants in TA activities were women.  In 2017, p riority continued to be 
given to Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs). Howev er, for the first time since the 
Secretariat started  compiling statistics on TA activities,  it was the Asia -Pacific region which had the 
highest number of TA activities and participants. The proportion  of TA activities with a general scope 
decreased from 50% in 2016 to 40% in 2017. Overall, 64% of TA was provided in English , 13% in 
French and 16% in Spanish . In addition to the reduction of TA resources , the main challenges faced 
by the Secretariat conti nued to come from the limitations on the training facilities available on the 
WTO campus , and the heavy workload of staff members in certain areas. With regard to the 
evaluation of performance, the results in 2017 were positive overall . He indicated in thi s regard that 
the proportion of targets met increas ed by five percentage points relative  to 2016 , reaching 62% . 
An overwhelming majority of the TA activities – a total of 82% – contributed  to Key Result 1 , which 
was related to g overnment officials implemen ting WTO Agreements and making full use of Members' 
rights . Key Result 4 , concerning  outreach to non -traditional audiences , was next  at 12%, followed 
by Key Result 2 concerning  accessions at 5%, and Key Result 3 concerning  access to information at 
2%. The Committee was informed that Key Result 2 was the most successful, with 75% of its targets 
met. This was followed by Key Result 1 at 69%, Key Result 4 at 56%, and Key Result 3 at 25%. He 
concluded his presentation by demonstrating how to access informat ion relating to TA activities on 
the WTO website, including through the TA dashboards. It was explained that the information 
available related, inter alia , to the type of activity, location, participants, topics covered, and whether 
the activity was delive red online or face -to-face. 
14. The representative of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group, stressed  the relevance of the 
WTO's  TA activities for LDCs . While welcom ing the overall positive results of TA activities in 2017 , 
he noted the relatively low achievement in terms of g overnment officials' understanding of the WTO 
Agreements and the conduct of trade negotiations. He also observed that,  while LDCs in Africa and 
the Asia -Pacific region were the main beneficiaries of TA activities, there was a significant differ ence 
in the number of activities taking place in these two regions . He wished to know why this was the 
case, and what could be done to address th e issue . He additionally inquired  what could be done to 
deal with the imbalances in the linguistic distribution of TA activities , as the majority of activities 
were delivered  in English . After outlining the  importance to LDCs of the internship programmes,  he 
asked for  the reasons behind  the decline in the number of interns benefiting from the Regional 
Coordinator Internship (RCI) Programme. Among his other points, he highlighted the importance 
attached by the LDCs to  the WTO Reference Centres, and to ITTC support in implementing the 
recommendations of the Trade Po licy Reviews of LDCs. He additionally noted the decrease in the 
number of national activities held in LDCs, and in this regard requested that t he WTO contribute to 
the cost s of organizing these  activities . The readiness of the LDCs to cooperate in improv ing technical 
cooperation and training procedures  was also indicated . In closing, he called on donors to scale up 
their financial contributions . He underlined  a number of key factors that would help address 
LDCs'  development challenges  and contribute to economic growth and job creation, and in this 
regard called for continued TA t o contribute to these objectives through the better integration of 
LDCs in the multilateral trading system  (MTS) . 
15. The representative of Guatemala  expressed appreciation for the annual report, as well as  for 
the Secretariat's efforts to improve its TA offer and implement many of the recommendations from 
the external evaluation. The efforts made to i mplement a TA management system based on results  
were also appreciated . He noted  that the Secretariat had had to draw on its reserves in order  to WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  implement the TA Plan in 2017, and wished to know the short-term and long -term implications of 
this approach. H e also called on donors to  sustain their  contributions in order to  ensure that the 
Secretariat could  continue to implement TA activities . Turning to the online courses , he welcomed 
the progress made in this area and hoped that the launch of a new platform would be of use to 
beneficiaries . He also noted that his delegation's request t o update the content of the e -learning 
courses had been taken into account by the Secretariat. With regard to the concern expressed by 
his delegation on numerous occasions regarding the lack of availability in Geneva of advanced 
courses in Spanish, he note d that some pilot courses with simultaneous interpretation had been  
launched by the Secretariat. His delegation wished to have some details about the experience s in 
implementing these courses.    
16. The representative of Nigeria  emphasized the importance of TA and capacity building for 
developing countries , which he noted were core elements of the development dimension of the MTS, 
as laid out  in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. He indicated his satisfaction with the implementatio n 
of many of the recommendations formulated in the external evaluation , and highlighted a number 
of elements from the annual report  – including  the continued improvement and enrichment of the 
substantive content of the TA offer,  the reporting rate on TA activities  of close to 100% , the 
continued priority accorded to Africa  and LDCs, the fact that the Asia -Pacific region hosted the 
highest number of TA activities in 2017, and the fact that the overwhelming majority of the TA 
activities – a total of 82% - contributed to the achievement of Key Result 1. While noting the overall 
positive result s of TA activities in 2017, he indicated  that developing  Members still needed more 
assistance  to properly implement WTO Agreements. As an example, he  pointed to the difficulties 
faced by d eveloping Members  in fulfilling their notification obligations  under various agreements, 
including the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS 
Agreement) and the Agreement  on Technical  Barriers to Trade  (TBT Agreement) . In closing, he 
called on donors to sustain their financial support for TA activities. He believed that there was always 
the opportunity for evaluation and re -evaluation of TA – on the basis of reports , and through 
contin ued interaction with the ITTC. He also encouraged the ITTC to consider how to address the 
challenges relating to the lack of availability of data in some areas . 
17. The representative of Sri Lanka  welcomed the annual report . She expressed appreciation to 
the Secretariat for implementing many of the recommendations of the external evaluation, and for 
the improvement of the TA offer, notably for online courses. She went on to highlight the importance 
of TA for small economies like Sri Lanka,  and drew particular attention to the continued need for the 
mission internship programmes for delegations with small missions like her own. She pointed to the 
difficulties experienced by these missions when there were overlapping meetings, particularly in the 
lead-up to Ministerial conferences , and in this regard  indicated  that the capacity of m issions should 
be included as part of the selection criteria for the  mission internship  programme s. She expressed 
appreciation to donors and to the Secretariat, and in particular to the Standard s and Trade 
Development Facility (STDF) for its support to Sri Lanka.  
18. The representative of the European Union  said that the E uropean Union and its member States 
were strong supporters of the ITTC and the TA provided by the WTO. She welcomed  the annual 
report , and commended the Secretariat  for the implementation of many of the recommendations 
contained in the  external evaluation. In her delegation's view, all Members  needed to be on an equal 
footing in terms of participati on in the MTS and the WTO's work. In this regard, s he underlined the 
importance of TA , and the need to give continued priority to the LDCs. She pointed to the positive 
developments in e -learning, which she believed w as a cost -effective and efficient way of providing 
quality TA to a large group of recipients. More generally, she appreciated the effort s by the 
Secretariat and the beneficiaries of TA  to enhance the efficiency and the impact of the activities. She 
looked forward to seeing the continued implementation of TA activities, target ing the main goals 
set, and keeping  within the planned budget. The Committee was also informed that the French -Irish 
Mission Internship Program me (FIMIP)  had been renewed in 2018. Finally, she indicated  that the 
European Union's  financial contribution to TA activities remained constant , and that continue d 
support to the Global Trust Fund was provided on an annual basis.  
19. The representative of Vanuatu  support ed the intervention  by Chad.  He welcomed the annual 
report , and expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for the TA provided . The importance of the 
mission internship programme s to his delegation was stressed . He also highlighted more generally 
the challenges facing small missions in Geneva , including difficulties in follow ing all the issues 
discussed at the WTO. He called for the consideration of specific measures to support small missions , WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  including through pa rticipation in the Geneva Week programme . He indicated that his remarks also 
applied to other delegations with small missions, including  Fiji, Seychelles  and Solomon Islands .  
20. The representative of Ecuador  welcomed the annual report , and the Secretariat's efforts to 
implement many of the recommendations of the external evaluation. She recognized the TA-related 
achievement s in 2017 , and expressed appreciation to the ITTC for its cooperation with Ecuador . The 
ITTC was also encouraged to continue to improve the substantive content of the TA offer, with a 
view to effectively addressing Members' needs. In closing, she expressed a ppreciation to the donor s 
for their contributions, and encouraged them to sustain these contribution s, so as to allow the 
Secretariat to  continue to  implement the TA Plan.   
21. The representative of Egypt  said that TA was one of the main tools to help  developing countries  
and LDCs build their trade capacity and human resources , with a view to facilitating th eir integration 
into the MTS and realizing sustainable development . He expressed appreciation for the work of the 
ITTC. He also expressed appreciation to the donors, and encouraged them to continue to provide 
financial assistance in support of TA activities.   
22.  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  expressed appreciation for the annual report, and for the 
Secretariat's efforts to continually make improvements in TA delivery and performance . He 
underlined the importance of TA activities for developing  countries, and pointed  particularly  to the 
benefits of the mission internship programmes , which he believed should be further enhanced. He 
thanked the donors for their financial support, and invited  them to maintain the ir support.  
23. The representative of th e United States  indicated his appreciation  for the annual report , and 
for the information  provided by the Secretariat at the present meeting , including with respect to  the 
TA dashboards. Referring to Annex I of the report, he noted t he Secretariat's efforts to implement 
many of the recommendations of the external evaluation , with a view to making TA more effective  
and serving more Members  in various ways , while also  helping to stretch finite funding e ven further.   
24. The representative o f Afghanistan  welcomed the comprehensive nature of the annual report , 
and the continued overall positive results in TA activities. He stressed the importance of TA activities 
for his country , as a recently  acceded Member and an LDC . He also informed the Committee that 
Afghanistan was c oordinating the g7+ group of countries , which comprised post -conflict and fragile 
economies  – some of which were in the process of accession to the WTO – and called for focused TA 
to address the needs of these countries. Wit h regard to Geneva -based courses, he observed that 
officials from LDCs and post -conflict countries often found it difficult to participate , because of 
difficulties in obtain ing visas. As a n alternative , he proposed that there be more focus on regional 
training courses, so as  to allow these officials to participate more easily. He additionally sought 
clarification on why some TA targets were not met in 2017, despite the overall positive results . 
Finally, he thanked the donors for their support , and encourage d them to sustain  their contributions 
to the Global Trust Fund.  
25. The representative of Colombia thanked the ITTC for the annual report . He noted that 
Colombia benefited from various TA activities, and expressed appreciation to the donors for their 
contributions . He also  believed that the number of courses delivered in Spanish – particularly at a 
more advanced level – needed to  be increased .  
26. The representative of Guinea  support ed the intervention by Chad , and welcomed the annual 
report . She stressed  the importance of TA activities for developing countries and LDCs, and 
highlighted in particular the benefits of national activities and the mission internship programmes. 
She also expressed appreciation to the donors and to the ITTC, and called for conti nued commitment 
to the WTO's TA activities . 
27. The representative of Ghana  express ed appreciation for the annual report, and for the TA 
provided . He thanked the donors, and encouraged them to continue to ensure the sustained delivery 
of TA.  He indicated that his delegation  had taken note of the ITTC's implementation of many of the 
recommendations of the external evaluation , as well as the work undertaken on the new TA 
management system . He additionally  asked for clarification on the reasons underlying the 2% decline 
in the number of participants in  TA activities in 2017 compared to 2016.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  28. The representative of Benin  supported the intervention by Chad. He thanked  the donors for 
their contribution s, and also appreciated the overall positiv e results in TA achieved  in 2017 . He 
highlight ed the importance of TA for developing countries and LDCs, and indicated that he wished 
to address an issue relating to training activities in trade statistics . He observed in particular that 
these activities were only delivered in En glish, and asked the Secretariat to consider organizing such 
courses in French, or at least , to provide simultaneous interpretation to allow for the participation of 
officials from French -speaking LDCs.  
29. The representative of Mozambique  supported the intervention  by Chad. She thanked the 
donors for their contributions,  and encouraged them to continue to provide support. She highlighted 
the relevance  of TA activities for developing countries  and LDCs, and particularly emphasized the 
importance of the participation of officials in national activities.  In this regard, s he said that her 
delegation had on a number of  occasions raised a specific concern relating to the language of delivery 
of TA activities. She explained that Portuguese was the national  language of Mozambique, and it 
was difficult for officials from her country to benefit from WTO TA activities, including national 
activities, because interpretation into Portuguese was not prov ided. She called on the Secretariat  to 
consider  covering the cost of interpretation  for national activities , as her government  did not have 
the necessary resources  for this purpose . 
30. The Director of the ITTC indicated that she would provide responses to some of the comments 
and questions raised , after which she would invite other representatives of the ITTC to contribute as 
well. With regard to national activities, she said that it had  been observ ed over a number of years 
that LDCs' requests for these activities had declined. It appeared that this was mainly  due to the  
difficulties these countries faced in covering the  local costs associated with the hosting of such 
activities. On this matter , the ITTC was working with a number of  LDCs to try and identify local 
partners to help cover the local costs. In addition, she observed that some LDCs were in arrears  and 
therefore subject to administrative measures , and this also had an impact on the number of requests 
for national activities by LDCs. As for the question relat ing to the gap between the number of TA 
activities  delivered in the Asia-Pacific region relative to  Africa, she explained  that this was a function 
of the requests received. She went on to note the importance of the internship programmes  to some 
Members, and in this regard indicated that d iscussions were presently taking place with the 
Netherlands on the way forward for the Netherlands Trainee Programme  (NTP) . As for the RCI 
Programme, she observed that not all coordinators of regional groups had made a request for an 
intern. With regard to funding issues, she indicated that additional efforts would be made to mobilize 
financial resources from donors. She also explained that the Global Trust Fund was not used for the 
purpose of funding participation in meetings . On the issue of  the lack of data for some indicators , 
she explained that it had not been possible to collect data on a number of  indicators  contained in 
the TA Plan for the 2016-2017 period . The indicat ors had been adjusted in the 2018 -2019 TA Plan , 
and it was hoped that relevant data would be collected  going forward . Finally, with regard to the 
delivery of TA in  a language other than  an official  WTO language, she indicated that guidance would 
be needed from Members on the way forward. In the meantime, the Secretariat was making  every 
effort to identify suitable staff member s to deliver activit ies requested in other languages .  
31. In their responses, the representatives of the ITTC informed the Committee  that the requests  
made by some Members  for linguistic diversity in Genev a-based activities had been taken into 
account through  an increase in the TA offer in French and Spanish. It was noted, however, that this 
increase did not come without some  challenges. One challenge pertained to the limited infrastructure 
available for th e implementation of these courses , in particular because  there were no training rooms 
in the WTO  that allowed for simultaneous interpretation. Another challenge related to the insufficient 
number of candidates for some courses organized in French and Spanish. On this matter, i t was 
suggested that t he Secretariat could explore  with Members how to disseminate information relating 
to French and Spanish courses , so that more candidates could be identified . The information 
available on the WTO website  relating to upcoming  courses could  help Members in this regard . With 
respect  to the WTO Reference Centres, Members were informed that there was an ongoing 
programme , for which the Secretariat would continu e to ensure follow -up. It was also indicated that 
the Secretariat would consider  the suggestions  made by Vanuatu.        
32. The representative of the European Union  noted the challenge s associated with identifying 
experts to provide training in different languages , and in this regard indicated that the 
European  Union  was willing to offer assistance through the identification and provision of French and 
Spanish speakers for training courses . WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  33. The representative of Nigeria  indicated that he wished to address the issue of local costs in 
the organization of national activities . He suggested that assessment s of local costs  needed to be 
made on a case -by-case basis , and that the Secretariat could help to  cover local costs if required, 
particularly in the case of LDCs . He drew a parallel in this regard to what was done during the trade 
facilitation needs assessments, and shared his view that some flexibility was required on the issue 
of local costs , especi ally if this was a critical factor in a country's decision to make a request for a 
national activity.   
34.  The Committee took note  of the Annual Performance Report on Technical Assistance and 
Training for 2017 , and of all interventions.          
D. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – WORK I N THE COMMITTEE ON T HE BASIS OF THE 
CHAIRMAN'S CONCLUDIN G STATEMENT FROM THE  EIGHTH MINISTERIAL 
CONFERENCE (WT/MIN(1 1)/11)  
35. The Chairman  said that, at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC8), Ministers had, inter 
alia, reaffirmed the  positive link between trade and development and called for focused work in the 
CTD. Ministers had called on Members to fully operationalize the mandate of the CTD as a focal point 
for development work. Before turning to the two submissions for considerati on at the present 
meeting, he indicated that he wished to draw Members' attention to the proposal by Ecuador, 
circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/204/Rev.1, which the Committee had agreed to at its 97th 
Session in November 2015. The proposal was for the Secr etariat to update, at least once every two 
years, its document on the implementation of special and differential treatment ( S&D) provisions in 
the WTO Agreements and Decisions. Accordingly, an update had been circulated in document 
WT/COMTD/W/219 in Septem ber 2016 . Given that close to two years had passed since the 
circulation of this document, he  informed Members that he  had instructed the Secretariat to begin 
work on another update, which would be circulated in advance of the next CTD meeting . He also  
indicated that he wished to remind Members of some elements of the proposal from Ecuador that 
had been agreed to. He noted firstly that the purpose of the Secretariat report  was to serve as a 
reference document for Members, for use as they deemed necess ary. In addition , if a Member  wished 
to propose that any particular element in the report be used as the basis for the inclusion of an 
agenda item at a CTD meeting, that Member would need to explain in its request the scope and 
purpose of the proposed discuss ion. In this light, he invited any Member wishing to discuss any 
particular element of the report in the Committee to submit a request along the lines agreed to, so 
that an appropriate agenda item could be included on the agenda  of a future CTD meeting . 
36. The representative of the United States  said that it was mentioned in the proposal contained 
in document WT/COMTD/W/204 /Rev.1 that the Secretariat report must include an objective and 
analytical listing of S&D provisions. In this regard, she drew Members' at tention to the words 
"objective and analytical", and indicated that this  underscored the need for th e Secretariat report to 
remain neutral and factual  in its representation.  
37. The representative of South Africa  requested  that the present agenda item be addressed 
during the informal consultations that the Chairman would be holding after the summer break . 
38. The Chairman  indicated  that he would hold consultations on the matter, as requested by 
South  Africa .  
- 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)   
- Operationalization of the CTD's Mandate: a Proposal to Deliver Outcomes bas ed on the 
MC8 Mandate – Proposal from China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group 
(WT/COMTD/W/192)1 
39. The Chairman  began his intervention by referr ing to the proposal contained in document 
WT/COMTD/W/208 by Barbados, Belize, China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and the African Group, which 
                                                
1 The discussion concerning documents WT/COMTD/W/208 and WT/COMTD/W/192 is presented together 
in this Note, as the Chairman did not open the floor separately on each sub -item.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 9 - 
 
  was for the CTD to report on the development -related work taking place in other WTO bodies. He 
recalled that , in the course of the discussion  on this proposal at the last meeting, some requests had 
been made by India for information regarding past activities in the CTD. India had firstly requested 
information relating to some specific work undertaken by the CTD in 1996. India had also requested  
information with respect to the activities carried out by the Committee in the past year relating to 
each of the six paragraphs of the CTD’s TORs, as contained in document WT/L/46.   
40. The representative of the United States  said that she wished to raise a point of order . She 
indicated  that the issues that the Chairman was referring to did not pertain to any of the agenda 
items agreed for the present meeting. Her delegation had therefore n ot ha d the opportunity to 
prepare for  a discussion on t hese issues. If the Member that had raised these issues at the last 
meeting wished to discuss them in the CTD, an agenda item would need to be requested for a future  
meeting.  
41. The Chairman  said that he was making a reference to issues raised by a Member at the last 
meeting. He indicated that he would  give the floor to the United States  after he finished his 
intervention .    
42. The representative of the United States  said that there was still a point of order  that needed 
to be addressed . She did not believe that the issues referred to by the Chairman  were appropriate 
for discussion at the present meeting , as they were not reflected  on the agenda, and no  related 
proposals had been  circulated  to help delegations prepare. She requested that the meeting be briefly 
suspended so a s to allow consultations to take place . 
43. The meeting was briefly suspended . 
44. Upon resumption of the meeting, the Chairman  gave the floor to the United States .  
45. The representative of the United States  reiterated the point of order , and expressed  once 
again her delegation 's disagreement with the Chairman's reference to issues that were not on the 
agenda of the present meeting. However, as her delegation did not wish to hold things up any 
further , she concluded by request ing that the point of order  raised by h er delegation  be duly reflected 
in the minutes of the meeting.   
46. The Chairman  said that,  in the course of the discussion at the last meeting on the proposal 
contained in  document WT/COMTD/W/208 , some requests were made by India for information 
regarding pas t activities in the CTD. India had firstly requested information relating to some specific 
work undertaken by the CTD in 1996. India had also requested information with respect to the 
activities carried out by the Committee in the past year relating to eac h of the six paragraphs of the 
CTD’s TORs, as contained in document WT/L/46. He said that he had had the opportunity to talk to 
the Secretariat on these issues, and wished  to share some information and observations with the 
Committee.  
47. With regard to  the CTD's activities in 1996, he said that the question from India was related 
to the Committee's review that year of  the implementation of provisions in favour of developing 
country Members. In particular, according to the CTD's annual report for 1996, c ontained in 
document WT/COMTD/9, it was agreed that this review would be undertaken on the basis of 
contributions from Members and from the WTO bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation 
of the Uruguay Round commitments. Furthermore, to assist in  this exercise, the Chairman had 
invited the Chairpersons of other WTO bodies to submit information on how provisions in favour of 
developing countries had been dealt with in their respective Committees. On the basis of these 
responses, the Secretariat had  prepared background documentation presenting the replies re ceived 
in an analytical format . He informed the Committee , in response to the request from India,  that the 
main documentation in this regard bore the symbol WT/COMTD/W/16 . Two addenda to this 
document had also been circulated. The title of the document was " Implementation of Uruguay 
Round provisions in favour of developing country Members" . He added that , while 1996 seemed to 
be the only year where Chairpersons of other bodies were contacted to req uest their inputs on this 
particular subject, it appeared that the documentation itself had been regularly updated and built 
upon over the years . This had been done with inputs from Secretariat staff working on the various 
WTO bodies, and not under the dir ection of the Chairpersons of other bodies. The most recent 
Secretariat document in this regard was the one from September 2016 that he had referred to WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  earlier , contained in document WT/COMTD/W/219 , on the implementation of S&D provisions in the 
WTO Agreem ents and Decisions. As he had mentioned  earlier , an update of this document was 
currently being prepared.  
48. He then turned to the second request from India, which concerned the CTD's activities in the 
past year under the various paragraphs of its terms of reference . On this matter, he believed that it 
was important to take a constructive approach, in line with his intention to work with Members to 
update and reinvigorate the CTD's work. For example, it was his hope that the update of the 
Secretari at paper on the implementation of S&D provisions in the WTO Agreements and Decisions 
would generate discussions on substance in the Committee. In addition, with regard to potential new 
avenues for discussion – and in line with the CTD's TORs – he thought t hat it might be useful for 
other international organizations to be invited to the Committee, in order to share information on 
their development -related work in areas that could be determine d. This was something that had 
been done in the past, and he believ ed it could benefit the Committee's discussions. He added that 
Members might have other ideas and, as had been mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, he 
intended to hold consultations after the summer break on what could be done to update the CTD 
agend a and reinvigorate the work. Furthermore, t his did not imply that pas t discussions would be 
ignored.  Rather , the intention was to  find common interests , or to look at issues in a different way. 
He also noted that, according to paragraph 6 of the CTD's TORs, the Committee was to establish a 
programme of work, which might be reviewed as necessary each year. On this matter, h e understood 
that no specific work programme had been agreed to in the CTD Regular Session in 2017 , and that 
the last time a work program me had been agreed to for the Regular Session was in 2007 . Although 
no requests had been found by any Member over the years to re -establish the practice to have a 
work programme, he indicated that he was bringing  this to the Committee's attention, in case 
Members wish ed to bring back the practice . He believed that this matter deserved attention, but 
how to proceed ultimately depended on Members' view s.  
49. The representative of India said that the General Council, at  its meeting o f 31 January 1995,  
had established the CTD , with the TORs as contained in document WT/L/46 . He went on to read out  
paragraphs 1, 3, and 6 of the  terms of reference , and explained that it was with regard to the  CTD's  
TORs that the proponents of document WT/COMTD/W/208 were proposing t hat the Committee 
recommend that the General Council  amend the second paragraph of its Decision on procedures for 
annual overview of WTO activities and for reporting under the WTO.  
50. The representative of China  expressed support for the intervent ion by India . He noted that 
the proposal contained in document WT/COMTD/W/208 was a paraphrasing of the CTD's TORs, and 
that Ministers had given the instruction to fully operationalize the mandate of the CTD as a focal 
point for development work . He believ ed that following these instructions would contribute 
favourably to work on development in the WTO, and would enhance the credibility of the 
organization . Finally, h e highlighted the proponents ' openness to participate in small -group 
consultations with interested Members , and requested that the sub -item concerning document 
WT/COMTD/W/208 be maintained on the agenda.2 
51. He also indicated that the position of his delegation regarding document WT/COMTD/W/208 
and WT/COMTD/W/192 remained unchanged from previous  meetings. He requested that both 
submissions remain on the agenda, and that these submissions be addressed in the consultations 
that the Chairman would be holding.    
52. The representative of South Africa  clarified that the earlier request  of her delegation for the 
Chairman to hold consultations related specifically to the proposals contained in documents 
WT/COMTD/W/208 and WT/COMTD/W/192.  
53. The representative of the United States  indicated that she wished to reiterate what had been 
said by her delegation at past meetings with regard to document s WT/COMTD/W/208 and 
WT/COMTD/W/192 . She believed that six years were sufficient for these proposals to have been fully 
considered by other Members. The proponents themselves had failed to take any initiative to 
advanc e their ideas for several years. They needed to address the concerns raised by other Members 
– either by revising their proposals, or by dropping the proposals altogether. Either way , the 
sub-items concerning these proposals needed to b e removed from the CTD's agenda until the  
                                                
2 The points in this paragraph , made by China at the 105th Session, are reflected  in the minutes of this 
meeting at the request of the delegation of China.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 11 - 
 
  proponents had something new to say. Her delegation  had repeatedly stated  that there was no 
consensus for these items to remain on the agenda as standing items , as if there was unfinished 
business to address . She a lso pointed out that, at several meetings, the Chairman had had to actively 
solicit acknowledgment of the item from the proponents. While t he proponents were free to add 
these items to the agenda of a future meeting , the United States did not agree to thes e as standing 
items. With respect specifically to the remaining proposal in document WT/COMTD/W/192, the 
United States had repeatedly stated that the proposal suggested a diminishing of Members' 
substantive rights and obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ), the 
General Agreement on Trade in Services ( GATS ), and the Enabling Clause . Her delegation saw no 
prospect for consensus in either the CTD or the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements ( CRTA ). 
The only outcome from th e proposal would be to provide one Member with the right to prevent 
others from complying with their notification obligations, which  would be prejudicial in the face of 
any dispute settlement proceedings regarding a particular regional trade agreement  (RTA). The 
proponents had failed to make their case .  
54. The representative of the European Union  recalled  that the proponents of document 
WT/COMTD/W/192 had previously indicated that they were undertaking consultations with a view 
to eventually submitting a revi sion of  the document. She inquired whether the proponents had any 
progress to report in this regard . She also  shared h er delegation's view that, in order to implement 
the MC8 mandate, the CTD should further explore the positive link between trade and development. 
This needed to be based on constructive exchanges on clearly identified topics, in line with the 
instruction from MC8 to carry out focused work. The proposals submitted in the context of the MC8 
mandate that had previously been agreed to by th e Committee responded to the requirement of 
being focused . However, her delegation continued to have concerns with the proposals that remained 
under consideration, as they did not respond to this requirement, and were not  in line  with the MC8 
mandate. She indicated her delegation's openness to engage with the proponents, and invited the 
proponents to consult with other Members between formal CTD meetings , as this might  prevent  a 
repetition of the same position s at each formal meeting .  
55. The representative of  Canada  indicated that her delegation continued to have concerns with 
the proposal contained in document WT/COMTD/W/208. Canada did not believe that the CTD had 
the authority to require other WTO bodies to report to it, nor did it have the authority to pro vide 
recommendations to the General Council on the work undertaken by other bodies. She also observed 
that attempts to separate out the development -related aspects of other Committees’ work would be 
challenging, and might trigger a theoretical debate about  what constituted development. 
Additionally, such an approach could create a duplicative process – which would not be desirable in 
light of resource constraints – and might water down discussions through the absence of technical 
experts from the substantiv e Committees. In closing, she said that the end objectives of the 
proposal, and what exactly would be achieved, remained unclear to her delegation.  
56. She welcomed the indication from India that the proponents were working towards submitting 
a revision to doc ument WT/COMTD/W/192. She noted that India had observed in its intervention 
that the Secretariat paper on the implementation of S&D provisions in the WTO Agreements and 
Decisions had not been updated since 2016. In this regard, she recalled that the Commit tee had 
agreed that the report would be updated after two years, and her delegation was therefore expecting 
an update in 2018. She hoped that this would address India's concern. She also noted that Canada 
did not support the remaining proposal in document WT/COMTD/W/192. In her delegation's view, 
notifications of RTAs should remain the responsibility of individual Members, and a requirement for 
joint notifications risked exacerbating issues with regard to non -notified RTAs. It was also not clear 
how joint n otifications would contribute to fulfilling the instructions from MC8 to fully operationalize 
the mandate of the CTD as a focal point for development work. Finally, she noted that, pursuant to 
paragraph 28 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, the CRTA h ad been instructed to consider 
systemic issues arising from RTAs.3 
57. The Chairman  encouraged continued engagement among Members in order to try and make 
progress on th e matter. He also  said that , although  the practice in the Committee for many years 
had been to maintain an item on the agenda if any Member so requested , the rules of procedure 
stated that requests for items to be placed on the agenda for a forthcoming meeting would  be 
communicated to the Secretariat in writing. He believed  that submitti ng written requests would make 
                                                
3 The points in this paragraph and the previous one, made by Canada at the 105th Session, are reflected 
in the minutes of this meeting at the request of the delegation of Canada.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 12 - 
 
  things clearer , thereby avoid ing any potential misunderstandings , and he therefore asked Members 
to do so .  
58. The representative of South Africa  sought clarification on the Chairman's intervention  
regarding the rules of procedure . In particular, she inquired whether , for the next meeting,  Members 
would be required to submit requests in writing . 
59.  The Chairman  said that , according to the  rules of procedure, requests for items to be placed 
on the agen da needed to  be communicated in writing . In order to avoid any misunderstandings, he 
asked  Members to submit requests in writing .  
60. The Committee took note  of all interventions.  
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
- Implementation of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements – 
Status Report on the Committee's Work  
 (I) Notifications received pursuant to Enabling Clause (Paragraph 4(a))   
-  Notification of Regional Trade Agreement – Submitted by Argentina, Brazil, Chile , 
Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay (WT/COMTD/N/53)  
61. The Chairman  said that  the notification by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and 
Uruguay – contained in document WT/COMTD/N/53 – appeared once again on the agenda.  
62. The representative of the United States  said that his delegation had requested that this 
notification remain on the agenda for the present meeting , because discussion on th e issue was not 
exhausted. The issue was also related  to the following sub -item concerning the questions submitted 
by his delegation. If there were no additional comments by Members on document  WT/COMTD/N/53,  
he indicated that the Committee could move on  to the next sub-item. 
(II) Questio ns from the United States to the delegations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico,  
Paraguay and Uruguay regarding document WT/COMTD/N/53 (WT/REG/W/126 – 
WT/COMTD/W/232)  
63. The representative of the United States  appreciat ed the opportunity to return to this item, 
which was introduced at the previous meeting . He hope d that the delegations of Argentina, Brazil, 
Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay  would be in a position to respond at the present meeting to 
the questions posed by his delegation  regarding documen t WT/COMTD/N/53 . These questions had 
been posed because, in his delegation's view, the submission was unclear in its intent and purpose, 
and the lack of clarity undermined the express purpose of the notification obligations in question.  
64. The representative of Uruguay  informed the Committee that responses to the questions by 
the United States were presently being finalized , and would be submitted to the CTD as soon as 
possible.  
65. The representative of the European Union  indicated her delegation's interest in r eceiving the 
responses to the questions posed by the United States. As had been previously stated in both the 
CTD and the CRTA, her delegation believed that the questions by the United States would allow the 
parties  to address the concerns raised regarding  document WT/COMTD/N/53 . She also indicated 
that, given that the venue for the discussion  of RTAs represented a concern, h er delegation was 
open to discuss these issues in the CTD, as well as in other venues , and wished to find a pragmatic 
solution.  
66.  The representative of the United States  expressed appreciation to Uruguay for the indication 
that the responses to the United States' questions were forthcoming . His delegation  looked forward 
to reviewing  the responses . 
67. The Committee took note  of the interventi ons made.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 13 - 
 
  (III) Status of the preparation of factual presentations – Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/W/23 6)   
68. The Chairman  said that his report on the status of the preparation of factual presentations, 
circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/236, contained 18 separate entries relating to the status of 
factual presentations. He noted that two factual presentations were in the process of being finalized , 
and would be circulated shortly. These concerned the Arab Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement 
(Agadir Agreement ) between Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, and the agreement between the 
Dominican Republic and Panama. A Dedicated Session of the CTD would be scheduled to consider 
these two agreements. As for the other RTAs listed in the report, the Secretariat was s till not in a 
position to finalize the factual presentations. In some cases, the full set of data had not been 
submitted, while in other cases not all comments on the draft factual presentations had been 
received. He urged all the parties to these agreemen ts to provide the Secretariat with the required 
data and information as soon as possible. He also informed the Committee that he had recently held 
a series of informal consultations with several of the parties to these RTAs, and he intended to 
continue mee ting with delegations in the future in order to help expedite the submission of the 
required data or comments. Finally, he said that there remained one RTA notified under the Enabling 
Clause that had not been ratified by all the parties. This was the Pacif ic Island Countries Trade 
Agreement (PICTA). Following CRTA procedures, a factual presentation on PICTA 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 completed.  
69. The representative of the United States  expressed appreciation for the report , and for the 
Chairman's consultations . He urged the parties to RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause that had 
not yet submitted the required data, or provided comments on factual presentatio ns, to do so as 
soon as possible.  
70. The Committee took note  of the Chairman's report , and of the interventions made.       
- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Notification of Customs Union  – Communication from 
China, Egypt and India (WT/COMTD/W/175)  
71. No Member took the floor under this sub -item. 
- Notification of  the Agreement on Trade in Goods  between the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea  
72. The representative of the United States  appreciated  the inclusion of this sub -item on the 
agenda, and noted that a correct reference to the notification in question  would need to include the 
document symbol WT/COMTD/N/33  of 8 July 2010 , which served as the ASEAN members' notification 
of 6 July 2010. He reg retted that the review process of th e ASEAN -Korea agreement had not been 
initiated , which was due to the failure of some parties to submit the necessary  data to the Secretariat 
for the preparation of the factual presentation. Referring to the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs 
(RTA TM),  he said that , according to paragraph 7,  it was the responsibility of the parties to RTAs to 
submit to the Secretariat the data specified in the Annex. He also noted from paragraph 8 of the 
RTA TM that the required data needed t o be made available as soon as possible, normally not to 
exceed  10 weeks – or 20 weeks in the case of RTAs involving only developing countries – after the 
date of the notification of the agreement. However, in the case of the ASEAN -Korea agreement, 
eight y ears had  passed since the notification of th is agreement.  He commended Korea for submitting 
its data in a timely fashion , and shared his delegation's understanding that , from the ASEAN side,  
data remained outstanding from Cambodia, the Philippines and Viet  Nam. He requested an update 
from these parties, and urged them to provide the data to the Secretariat without any further delay. 
He also observed that Lao PDR,  which was a member of ASEAN, had not been identified as a party 
to the ASEAN -Korea agreement in the notification of 6 July 2010. In this regard, he requested 
clarification as to whether Lao PDR was a party to the agreement – and if so, whether it would 
submit a notification, and subsequently the necessary data to the Secretariat. Finally, he noted that 
some Members had raised concerns  regarding the venue for the mandated review of the ASEAN -
Korea agreement. While it was important to reach a consensus on a path forward for the review, his 
delegation did not believe that the question of venue should be a reason for Members to avoid 
fulfilling their obligations under the RTA TM.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 14 - 
 
  73. The representative of the European Union  indicated that she wished to begin her in tervention 
by making some observations about  the GCC Customs Union. While welcom ing the circulation of the 
factual presentation on the GCC Customs Union, a s well as the Secretariat's general incidence  
calculation , she expressed disappointment that the CRTA  had not been able to review the agreement  
at its last meeting, as the matter had been withdrawn . She urged the GCC parties  to expeditiously 
fulfil their obligations , so that the review of this RTA could  take place in a timely manner. Turning to 
the ASEAN -Korea and India -Korea agreement s, she said that  it was important to clarify the legal 
and procedural questions arising from agreements being notified by each party under different legal 
provisions. With respect to the ASEAN -Korea agreement, she regretted t hat no progress had been 
made, and encouraged the parties to make additional efforts in this regard. She noted  that this 
situation had prevented the Committee from reviewing the goods aspects of the agreement, whereas 
the services aspects had already been discussed in the CRTA. This situation  was unsatisfactory in 
terms of transparency , as it prevented Members from having the full picture of the agreement. She 
also regretted that no progress had been made  with regard to the India -Korea agreement , and 
encouraged the parties to make additional efforts to find a  solution.  
74. The representative of Korea  said that issues relating to dual notifications of RTAs had appeared 
on the CTD's agenda for several years. He indicated that Korea had notified its RTAs – and in 
particular the ASEAN -Korea and India -Korea agreements – in accordance with GATT Article XXIV 
and GATS Article V, and in compliance with the RTA TM. He also indicated that there were systemic 
issues to consider, and in this regard referred to document WT/COMTD/W/175. He went on to say 
that, w hile the Enabling Clause was designed to allow developing Members to accord differential and 
more favorable treatment for trade in goods  to each other, it was unsure whether the ASEAN -Korea 
and India -Korea agreement s fell into this category , as they covered trade in services  as well . The 
view of his delegation was that all RTAs should be considered in a comprehensive way in the same 
body, irrespective of whether they covered trade in goods or trade in services. Korea  had engaged 
in discussions with interested Members, and with CTD Chairs, with a view to resolving the issue of 
dual notification s. In closing, he said  that Korea wished  to explore with interested parties the possible 
solution  of having a joint review  by the CTD and CRTA.   
75. The Committee took note  of all interventions.   
- Notification of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and 
Korea (Goods)  
76. The representative of India said that, with regard to the notification of RTAs which inv olved 
both developing and developed  countries , and which  also had elements of both goods and services, 
he would be referring the suggestion made by Korea to his capital, and depending on the feedback 
his delegation would be informing the Committee .  
77. The representative of the United States  said that his delegation's concerns were similar to 
those raised under the previous sub -item, including with respect to the excessive delay in providing 
data to the Secretariat  for the preparation of factual presenta tions. He requ ested that the Secretariat 
include the full title of the notification  in question , including the date , on any future  agenda s. He 
commended the efforts by Korea for its timely submission of data , and encouraged India to submit 
its data without further delay. He went on to note that  some Members had raised questions regarding 
the venue for the mandated review of the India -Korea agreement , pursuant to the RTA TM . In this 
regard , he believed that it was important for Members to reach consensus on a path forward. He 
expressed appreciat ion for  the suggestion made by Korea, and looked forward to continuing 
discussions on this matter. However, his delegation did not believe that the question of venue sho uld 
be a reason for Members to avoid fulfilling their obligations under the RTA TM. He therefore asked 
India to submit its d ata, so that a factual presentation could be prepared. Members could then 
discuss the venue for the review  on the basis of a factual  presentation . 
78. The representative of South Africa  indicated  that she wished to provide response s to a 
question posed by the E uropean Union at the last meeting , seeking clarification as to why the parties 
to the agreement between MERCOSUR  and the Southern African Customs Union ( SACU ) had notified 
their agreement under the Enabling Clause . In particular, she said that the MERCOSUR -SACU 
agreement had been notified  to the CTD  in document WT/COMTD/N/55 of 20 July 2017, under 
paragraph 4 (a) of the Enabling Clause. All information deemed appropriate for this agreement  had 
been notified . She additionally made reference to paragraph s 1 and 2 (c) of the Enabling Clause, as WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
- 15 - 
 
  well as to paragraph 18 of the RTA TM, and indicated that these provisions pro vided the reason for 
the notification of the MERCOSUR -SACU agreement under the Enabling  Clause.  
79. The representative of the European Union  said that her delegation had shared its view at the 
last meeting that customs unions did not fall under the Enabling Clause, and needed to  be notified 
under GATT Article XXIV. She hoped that the response from South Africa could be provide d in writing , 
so as to allow her to transmit it to  her capital . 
80. The Committee took note  of all interventions .   
F. TEMPLATE FOR NOTIFYI NG CHANGES TO AN EXI STING REGIONAL TRADE  AGREEMENT 
– PROPOSAL BY THE CO MMITTEE ON REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS TO THE COUNCIL 
FOR TRADE IN GOODS, THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES AND TH E COMMITTEE 
ON TRADE AND DEVELOP MENT (WT/REG/28)  
81. The Chairman  said that the CRTA, at its 89th Session on 19 June 2018, had agreed to 
recommend to the Council for Trade in Goods  (CTG) , the Council for Trade in Services  (CTS)  and 
the CTD the adoption of a template  for notifying changes to an ex isting RTA. The template could be 
found in the Annex of document WT/REG/28. He believed that in the case of the CTD, this notification 
template would apply to RTAs originally notified under the Enabling Clause.  
82. The representative of Brazil  said that his d elegation was in need of more time to complete 
internal consultations regarding the new template . He recalled that his delegation had also explained 
this at the recent CTG meeting . 
83. The Chairman  noted  that the Committee was not in a position to adopt the notification 
template  at the present meeting . He indicated that he would inform the CRTA Chairman of this 
situation. He also indicated his openness to discuss the matter with any interested delegations . 
84. The Committee took note  of all interventions .    
G. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE TRANSPARENCY MEC HANISM FOR PREFERENT IAL TRADE 
ARRANGEMENTS  
- Implementation of the Transparency Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements  – 
Status  Report  on the Committee's Work  
- Status of the preparation of factual presentations – Report  by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/W/237 )   
85. The Chairman  said that his report on the status of the preparation of factual presentations 
was circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/237. In summarizing the info rmation contained in the 
report, he informed the Committee that, as had been mentioned in past meetings, there were five 
PTAs that had been notified since the establishment of the Transparency Mechanism for PTAs 
(PTA TM) for which the Secretariat had still  not received the full set of data or information required 
for the preparation of the factual presentations. These were the PTAs being implemented by China, 
India, the Russian Federation, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. He urged the notifying Members to 
provide all the required data and information as soon as possible, as per the requirements of the 
PTA TM. He added that , as he had done with RTAs, he intended to hold informal consultations in the 
near future with the Members implementing the PTAs mentioned in his report, in the hope that this 
would help expedite the provision of the required data and information.  
86. The representative of the United States  expressed appreciation to the Chairman for making 
this m atter a priority  in terms of his consultations . He encouraged the Members  in question to 
provide the full set of data and information that would  allow the Secretariat to complete the drafting 
of the outstanding factual presentations. He noted with concern that , for some PTAs, the Secretariat 
had been waiting for more than six years for th e information and data, which reduced transparency 
for all Members.  
87. The Committee took note  of the Chairman's report , and of the interventions.  WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  H. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROV IDE DUTY -FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS 
TO LEAST DEVELOPED C OUNTRIES  
88. The Chairman  said that an item concerning duty free and quota -free (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.  
89.  The representative of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group, emphasized the importance of DFQF 
market access  for the integration of LDCs into global trade . He indicated  that DFQF market access 
was a key S&D provision in the MTS in favour of LDCs. He went on to express appreciation to the 
developed and developing Members that had made significan t effort s to provide DFQF market access 
for LDCs, while also  noting that some Members  could do more to implement the Hong Kong and Bali 
DFQF Decision s, by providing better market  access to LDC products.  He additionally observed that 
LDCs experienced diffic ulties in taking full advantage  of market access opportunities, and stressed 
the importance of examin ing the utilization of preferences in order to better identify the se difficulties 
and find solutions . In this regard, h e recalled that the LDC Group had submitted a proposal in 2016  
for a clinical examination of DFQF implementation  to be undertaken  by the Secretariat. He believed  
that it would useful for the Secretariat study to be prepared  as soon as possible , so that Members 
could address relevant issues  relating to DFQF market access for LDCs .  
90. The representative of the European Union  expressed her delegation's commitment  to the 
Hong Kong and Bali DFQF Decision s. She said that the European Union provided DFQF market access 
for all products from LDCs, exc ept for arms and ammunition , and remained the most important  
destination for LDCs' agricultural products and manufactured products. She also observed that t he 
number of beneficiaries  of the European Union's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)  scheme  
had been reduced , thereby  generat ing considerably more benefits for LDC exports. She welcomed 
the progress made in DFQF market access, and encouraged other Members, including  emerging 
economies  in a position to do so , to endeavor to provide better  market access to LDCs.  
91. The Committee took note of all interventions.  
I. WORK PROGRAMME ON EL ECTRONIC COMMERCE  
92. The Chairman  said that , at the last CTD meeting , Members' attention had been drawn to the 
Decision taken at the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference  (MC11)  concerning the WTO's Work 
Programme on E -Commerce which, inter alia , called for a continuation of the work under the Work 
Programme. He recalled  that some interventions had been made, and some ideas had been shared 
on possible work for the CTD in the e -commerce area going forward.  He inquired whether any 
Member wished to take the floor under this agenda item at the present meeting.  
93. No Member took the floor . 
94. The Chairman  proposed  that the agenda item concerning the Work Programme on 
E-Commerce be maintained on the agenda for the next meeting . 
95. It was so agreed .   
J. DATE OF THE NEXT MEE TING  
96. The Chairman  said that the next meeting of the CTD Regular Session  was tentatively scheduled 
to be held on  Wednesday, 21 November 2018 . An initial agenda would be circulated four weeks 
before the meeting, on 24 October  2018, as per the CTD's rules of procedure. After the circulation 
of this initial meeting notice, Members would still have the opportunity to request items on the 
agenda for  the meeting. The agenda would close on 8 November  2018, and would be circulated on 
9 November  2018.   
K. OTHER BUSINESS  
97. The Chairman  recalled that , at the 104th Session  in November 2017, Members had been 
informed that the Secretariat was working on a document titled "Mainstreaming Trade in the WT/COMTD/M/10 6 
 
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  Sustainable Development Goals" . As the  document had now been published, he encouraged 
Members to review it. 
98. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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