WT/GC/W/865  
 
24 February 2023  
(23-1319) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT MANDATE: FOCAL POINT   
FOR CONSIDERATION AND COORDINATION OF WORK  
ON DEVELOPMENT  IN THE WTO  
COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA  
The following communication, dated 23 February 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of India.  
 
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1.  In the recent informal meeting on "WTO Reform focussed on development" , held on 2 and 
3 February 2023, a suggestion that found wide support was regarding the need for reaffirming, 
reiterating, and oper ationalising the mandate of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) 
as the focal point for consideration and coordination of work on development in the WTO.  
2.  Development is a cross cutting issue that is dealt in various Committees in the WTO. Work on 
development dimension is also done in other multilateral organisations.  As development dimensions 
has wide amplitude, it necessitates a focussed consideration and coordination in WTO for a sustained 
effort.  CTD, as per its Terms of Reference1 (TOR), is req uired inter alia to discharge the following 
development functions:  
• To keep under continuous review the participation of developing country  Members 
in the multilateral trading system and to consider measures and initiatives  to assist 
developing country Memb ers, and in particular the least -developed country Members, in the 
expansion of their trade and investment opportunities, including support for their measures 
of trade liberalization.  
 
• To review periodically, in consultation as appropriate with the relevan t bodies of the 
WTO, the application of special provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements 
and related Ministerial Decisions  in favour of developing country Members, and in 
particular least -developed country Members, and report  to the General Council for 
appropriate action.  
 
• To consider any questions which may arise 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 a nd report to the General 
Council  for appropriate action.  
 
These mandates require CTD to function as a focal point on development matter. This has been 
clearly recogni zed in the WTO System.  According to the Decision by the General Council (GC) on 
31 January 19952, the first function of the CTD is:  
 
"1. To serve as a focal point for consideration and coordination  of work on development 
in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its relationship to development  related activities 
in other multilateral agencies."  
 
 
1 WT/L/46 . 
2 WT/L/46 . WT/GC/W/865  
 
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  3.  At the Eighth Ministerial Conference, Ministers while reaffirming the positive link between trade 
and development, called for " focused work in the Committee on  Trade and Development (CTD) which 
is to con duct this work in accordance with its mandate" and  called on WTO Members "to fully 
operationalize the mandate of the CTD as a focal point for  development work "3. 
4.  At the Ninth Ministerial Conference, Ministers decided4 that the Monitoring Mechanism to ope rate 
in the dedicated session of the CTD, and also laid out its Terms of Reference, which inter alia include:  
• The Mechanism shall act as a focal point  within the WTO to analyse and review the  
implementation of S&D provisions. The Mechanism will complement,  not replace, other 
relevant review mechanisms and/or processes in other bodies of the WTO .5  
 
• The Mechanism shall review all aspects of implementation of S&D  provisions with a 
view to  facilitating integration of developing and least -developed Members int o the 
multilateral trading system. Where the review of implementation of an S&D provision under 
this Mechanism identifies a problem, the Mechanism may consider whether it results from 
implementation, or from the provision itself . 
 
• The Mechanism can, as appropriate, make recommendations  to the relevant WTO 
body that  propose:  
• the consideration of actions to improve the implementation of a special and differential  
provision; or  
• the initiation of negotiations aiming at improving the special and differential 
provision(s)that have been reviewed under the Mechanism.  
5.  The CTD's mandate, to serve as the focal point for the consideration and coordination of all work 
on development in the WTO, including through Monitoring Mechanism has been recognised and 
reiterated time and again.   The discharge of this mandate requires that all issues and decisions taken 
by other WTO bodies which were of particular interest to developing Members and LDCs be regularly 
shared with the CTD. In turn, CTD is required to report  these issues and decisions to the GC for 
appropriate action. However, a lack of institutional mechanism, within the WTO, as regards the 
continuous review by the CTD of participation of developing country Members in Multilateral Trading 
System for consider ing appropriate measures and initiatives and periodical review in consultation 
with other relevant WTO bodies in this regard with a structured reporting mechanism of CTD on 
development agenda to the GC is impeding CTD to act as a focal point as envisaged. As a result, 
CTD is not able to deliver on its overarching mandate of focal point on development.  
6.  Certain discussions, in past, on this issue in CTD have brought out the concerns of some Members 
that this mandate may give an oversight to the CTD over other  bodies and that it may not be feasible 
to separate out development function from other WTO bodies. However, mandate of CTD, as focal 
point on development, is not to replace but to complement the work of other bodies on development 
dimension through coordi nation and consultation with these WTO bodies; continuous  review of 
participation of developing countries in multilateral trading system; acting as a platform for 
developing countries to raise issues that have implications on their development and for cons idering 
measures and initiatives to assist them in this regard; keeping account of Ministerial Decisions on 
development aspects; and reporting to the GC, for appropriate action, on the issue concerning 
development. In the process, no other WTO Committee ge ts undermined or give in to the oversight 
of CTD. Ministerial Decisions reiterate the need for fully operationalising the mandate of CTD and 
making it a focal point on Development dimension in WTO.  
7.  In view of the above, the GC may take decisions, as necess ary, for fully operationalising the 
mandate of CTD as focal point on development dimension as per its TOR. This should inter alia 
include institutional mechanism for sharing of information by other WTO bodies on development 
related work to CTD, mechanism f or co -ordination between the CTD and other Committees; a 
structured mechanism and modalities for the continuous review by CTD of the participation of 
developing country Members in the multilateral trading system; keeping account of action on 
Ministerial De cision in favour of developing countries; and an institutional mechanism for CTD to 
 
3 WT/MIN(11)/11.  
4 WT/MIN(13)/45 . 
5 Members will have the discretion to avail themselves of the Mechanism as well as other relevant  
review mechanisms or processes in other bodies of the WTO . WT/GC/W/865  
 
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  report to the GC, as per TOR, under a standing agenda in the GC, for achieving better coordination 
within the WTO on development issues.  
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