RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/M/58 
29 August 2006 
 
 (06-4110) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Fifty-Eighth Session  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 6 JULY 2006 
 
Chairman:  Mr. Faizel Ismail (South Africa)  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................2  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................................... ..2 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ...............................................................................2  
(ii) Further consideration of the 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 th e Groupe de la Banque Africaine de 
Développement.................................................................................................................. ..........3
 
C. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE .......................................................................3  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON THE AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC 
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS 
(ASEAN)  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.2) ..........................3  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , THE PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE 
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN 
ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.3).............................3  
- COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S  
REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE 
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN 
ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.4).............................3  
- COMMUNICATION FROM BRAZIL ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.1) ..............5  
- COMMUNICATION FROM CHINA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.2)...............5  
- COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.3)...............5  
- COMMUNICATION FROM PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.4)...............5  WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 2  
 
  -
 COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS 
SUBMITTED BY BRAZIL , CHINA , INDIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED 
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
(WT/COMTD/57/A DD.5) ...........................................................................................................5  
D. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES ......................6  
- PRESENTATION BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) ...............................6  
E. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD/W/143/R EV.2)...................................................................................................11  
F. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET 
ACCESS TO LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ............................................................................13  
- COMMUNICATION BY JAPAN (WT/COMTD/W/150)................................................................13  
G. EXPORT HELPDESK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES – PRESENTATION BY THE 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ........................................................................................................14  
H. OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................15  
 
  A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the draft agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/2845/Rev.1 issued on 27 June 2006.  He said that he wished to add under "Other Business" 
the issue of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the CTD, and that the Secretariat wanted to add an 
item relating to trade-related technical assistance and the financial situation of the trust funds.  
2. The Committee adopted  the agenda as amended. 
B. OBSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
3. The Chairman  recalled that at previous sessions of the CTD, Members agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis.  These included 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), th e Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), the 
Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, th e Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the African 
Union (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic Confer ence (OIC), the South Centre, the Pacific Islands 
Forum, the United Nations Environment Progra mme (UNEP), the West African Economic and 
Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the World Intellectua l Property Organization (WIPO).  He said that, 
following the decision taken at the previous meeti ng of the Committee, the organizations had been 
invited to the present meeting.  He proposed that the organizations be invited to the next formal 
meeting of the CTD. 
4. It was so agreed
.  WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 3 
 
 
  (ii) Further consideration of the 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 Int ernationale 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 
5. The Chairman
 said that at previous meetings, the Committee had had before it a number of 
requests for observer status.  He said that if there was no change in positions to extend observer status 
to any of those applicants, then the Committee would take note and would revert to those requests at 
the next meeting.   
6. It was so agreed . 
C. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
- C OMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON THE AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC 
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS 
(ASEAN)  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.2) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , THE PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE 
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN 
ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.3) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S  
REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE 
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN 
ASEAN  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD/51/A DD.4) 
7. The Chairman  recalled that the Framework Ag reement on Comprehensive Economic 
Cooperation between ASEAN and China was notified to the CTD at the 52nd Session in 
February 2005 and that the Agreement on Trad e in Goods of the Framework Agreement on 
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASE AN and China was notified to the CTD at the 
54th Session in October 2005.  He said that communicati ons raising questions on the notifications had 
been received from the European Communities (EC), the United States (US) and Japan and had been 
circulated as documents WT/COMTD/51/Add.2, Add.3 and Add.4, respectively.  He suggested that 
the three communications be treated together.   
8. The Chairman said that ASEAN and China had indi cated at the last meeting of the CTD that 
responses to the questions were under preparation and would be ready shortly.  After having consulted 
with the Members concerned, he had been info rmed that the responses from ASEAN and China had 
been submitted bilaterally to each of the th ree Members that had raised questions.  
9. The representative of Canada  said that his delegation wished to receive the responses that had 
been submitted by ASEAN and China to the EC, the US and Japan. 
10. The representative of Australia  said that his delegation also wanted to obtain the responses 
and to see them circulated more widely  in the interests of transparency.  WT/COMTD/M/58 
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  11. The representative of Japan
 confirmed that his delegation had received the responses to the 
questions it had raised.  His delegation was, however , also interested in seeing the responses to the 
questions raised by the EC and the US and was of the view that all three sets of responses should be 
circulated as a CTD document. 
12. The representative of th e European Communities  said that while his delegation had received 
bilaterally the responses to the questions it had rais ed, it was also interested in the responses to the 
questions raised by Japan and the US.  His dele gation believed that it was appropriate for all the 
responses to be shared with the Commit tee for the purposes of transparency. 
13. The representative of the United States  confirmed that her delegation had also received 
responses to the questions it had raised.  She echoed the views of others that the responses should be 
shared with all Members in the form of a CTD document. 
14. The representative of China  said that his delegation did not believe it had an obligation to 
submit the written responses for circulation as a CTD doc ument.  He, however, indicated that bilateral 
consultations according to the provisions of the En abling Clause could be held if any Member sought 
information on the ASEAN-China notifications.  
15. The representative of the Philippines , on behalf of ASEAN, said that while he understood the 
requests of some Members, the ASEAN member count ries would have to consult further with China 
on the matter. 
16. The Chairman  noted that some Members were not in  agreement on how to move forward in 
treating the ASEAN-China notifications.  He propo sed to hold informal consultations with the 
concerned Members and to report back to the CTD at its next meeting. 
17. The representative of Canada  requested that the CTD revert to  this agenda item at its next 
meeting. 
18. The Chairman  said that the item would be retained on the agenda for the next meeting in 
order to allow him to report on the outcome of  his consultations with concerned Members. 
19. The representative of the United States  said that the Chairman's proposal seemed like a way 
forward.  She requested that the item remain on the agenda in its current form for the next meeting, 
and not be changed to reflect the report of the Chairman.  She also sought confirmation that the 
Chairman's report would not limit discussion by Members under the agenda item at the next meeting. 
20. The Chairman  said that the item would remain on the agenda and he would report under that 
item.  Members would be free to discuss the matte r further after he had made his report.   
21. It was so agreed .   WT/COMTD/M/58 
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  - C OMMUNICATION FROM BRAZIL ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.1) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM CHINA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.2) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM INDIA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.3) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD/57/A DD.4) 
- C OMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS 
SUBMITTED BY BRAZIL , CHINA , INDIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED 
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
(WT/COMTD/57/A DD.5) 
22. The Chairman  recalled that the EC had notified its revi sed GSP scheme at the last meeting of 
the CTD.  Communications raising questions on the notification had been received from Brazil, 
China, India and Pakistan and were circulat ed in documents WT/COMTD/57/Add.1 to Add.4 
respectively.  At the last CTD meeting, the EC had responded orally to the questions from Brazil and 
China.  The EC had more recently submitted writte n responses to all four sets of questions, which 
were circulated in document WT/COMTD/57/Add.5.  He said he would first ask the EC to introduce 
its responses, after which th e floor would be opened. 
23. The representative of th e European Communities  said that the EC's written responses to the 
questions from Brazil, China, India and Pakistan ha d been circulated to all Members for purposes of 
transparency.  The responses were self-explanatory in  terms of providing answers to the four sets of 
questions. 
24. The representative of India  said that the EC's responses had been received quite recently and 
his delegation was still studying them in detail.  It , however, appeared that the responses were fairly 
inadequate in terms of providing answers to I ndia's questions.  His delegation would have more 
detailed comments and follow-up questions at the next CTD meeting and, therefore, requested that the 
item remain on the agenda for the next meeting. 
25. The representative of Pakistan  said that the EC's answers to  Pakistan's questions were 
currently being studied by her delegation, but that  she could offer some preliminary comments.  She 
said that the EC's responses did not go into the de tail necessary to adequately answer Pakistan's 
questions, and provided nothing additional to informa tion that was already available.  For example, in 
its third question Pakistan had referred to Artic le 9, paragraph 3(b), of the special incentive 
arrangement for sustainable development and goo d governance, which defined a vulnerable country 
as one whose GSP-covered imports into the EC re presented less than 1 per cent in value of total 
GSP-covered EC imports.  Pakistan  had observed in its communication that a relatively high income 
country may fulfil the requirement of less than 1 pe r cent of the EC's GSP imports and qualify, while 
a low-income country with 1.1 per cent of GSP-cove red imports would not.  Pakistan's third question 
therefore asked whether the criteria used by the EC  were objective, as some countries such as Pakistan 
might be marginalized.  Unfortunately, the answer  provided by the EC did not address Pakistan's 
concern.  
26. As another example, she referred to the fourth and fifth questions by Pakistan.  These 
concerned the fact that the benefits under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable 
development and good governance were confined to those countries that had ratified 14 of the WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 6  
 
  16 conventions specified in Annex III-A, and put  them into effective implementation by 
31 October 2005.  Pakistan wanted to know what  would happen if a developing country were to 
subsequently ratify all of these conventions and effe ctively implement them.  The replies provided by 
the EC were, however, unsatisfactory.  She said that Pakistan in its sixth question had highlighted that 
the United Nations considered seven conventions to  be core human rights conventions, and therefore 
wanted to know why the EC had only included six of them as criteria to qualify for the special 
incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance.  Once again, however, the 
response from the EC did not adequately address the qu estion.  In view of the unsatisfactory responses 
from the EC, her delegation remained unclear on a nu mber of points concerning the EC's revised GSP 
scheme.   
27. The representative of China
 said that the responses from the EC to China's questions were 
still being studied by his delegation.  He said that hi s delegation had no comment to make at this time, 
but reserved the right to address the issue at a later date. 
28. The Chairman  noted that some delegations that had raised questions on the EC's revised GSP 
scheme had indicated that the responses provided by th e EC were not to their satisfaction.  He also 
noted that the delegations were still studying the EC 's responses.  He, theref ore, suggested that the 
Committee revert to this agenda item at its next meeting.   
29. It was so agreed .  
D. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO TRADE 
AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES  
- P RESENTATION BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) 
30. The Chairman  said that, based on the discussion that took place under this agenda item at the 
last meeting of the CTD, an invitation to make a presentation to the Committee had been extended to 
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  He  was pleased to inform the Committee that the 
FAO had accepted the invitation and that a repres entative of the FAO was in attendance at the 
meeting.  He introduced Mr. David Hallam, who wa s the Chief of the Raw Materials, Tropical and 
Horticultural Products Service in the Commodities and Trade Division of the FAO.  
31. The representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization  said that his presentation would 
focus on the work of the Commodities and Trade Di vision, which was concerned with the economic 
analysis of international commodity markets and related policy issues.  The Division followed all 
agricultural commodity markets and undertook studi es on market outlooks and commodity strategy 
for FAO member countries.  It was involved in capacity-building activities, including in the trade 
area.  It also maintained a global information a nd early warning system (GIEWS) to assess the food 
supply situation in member countries and issue alerts  or warnings if it looked like there would be a 
food crisis or shortage.  The Division collaborated  with a number of institutions including the 
Organization for Economic Coopera tion and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the World Food 
Programme (WFP), the United Nations Conferen ce on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the 
Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the international commodity organizations.  
32. The Division additionally provided the S ecretariat for the Committee on Commodity 
Problems (CCP) and its sub-committees.  The CCP w as one of the five big technical committees of 
the FAO Council.  Its mandate was to review inte rnational commodity market developments and to 
discuss related policy issues, and to report to the FAO Council.  The CCP, which met every two years, 
had a membership of approximately 120 countries.  It had a number of sub-committees including the 
so-called intergovernmental groups (IGGs) and th e Consultative Sub-Committ ee on Surplus Disposal 
(CSSD).  The IGGs, of which there were about 12,  provided an international forum for discussion of  WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 7 
 
 
  issues relating to particular commodities.  In recent years, trade policy issues had been central to the 
agendas of the IGGs.  The IGGs also acted as s upervisory bodies for various development projects, 
and any proposals for projects funded by the Comm on Fund for Commodities had to be approved by 
the relevant IGG.  The CSSD's ro le was to monitor food aid shipment s to ensure that they were not 
displacing normal commercial trade.  However, some  major donors had in recent years chosen not to 
notify the CSSD, or had done so only after extensive delays. 
33. He said that he wished to provide more detail on some aspects of the work of the 
Commodities and Trade Division.  The market outlook work of the Division was done primarily in collaboration with the OECD, and was very much based on economic modelling.  The objective of the 
Division's analytical work was to improve market transparency and to provide a foundation for FAO's 
advice to its member governments.  The Division wa s also interested in international commodity 
value chains and their implications.  The work of  the Division was disseminated through a number of 
publications including periodicals such as the "C ommodity Market Review" and the "State of 
Agricultural Commodity Markets", as well as technical studies and CCP and IGG documents.  He said he had also recently co-authored a book titled "A gricultural Commodity Markets and Trade".  All 
FAO publications were available on the FAO's website (www.fao.org). 
34. He said that the FAO's analytical work confirmed the general perception of a fairly steady 
downward trend in commodity prices of between 1 to 2 per cent a year in real terms.  Prices also exhibited a high degree of volatility, though there app eared to have been a reduction in volatility after 
the 1970s.  The prices of several non-oil commodities exhibited similar trends , suggesting that there 
was a common explanation for the path they foll owed.  However, there was still disagreement among 
economists regarding the nature of the trend of commodity prices, in particular whether it was a 
steady and deterministic trend, a series of downward steps, or a more stochastic trend.  It was important to attempt to understand the nature of the trend, as this would shed some light as to whether 
supply control schemes in internati onal markets would be effective.  He noted that prices of industrial 
products that had similar characteristics to agricultural commodities – for example, being 
homogeneous and mass-produced – behaved in the sa me way as commodity prices.  The reason that 
prices were declining was that technical change was reducing costs and increasing productivity faster 
than population and income growth were increasing demand.  The way to offset this trend was to 
improve quality.  Unfortunately, there was relatively less that could be done in the case of commodities to increase quality than with industrial products.  Commodity price volatility arose from exogenous shocks both on the demand side and the supply side, and were pe rsistent for reasons 
including low demand and supply elasticities.   
35. He explained that the problems faced by comm odity exporting countries were the same that 
had always existed.  The implications for these count ries were a decline in their real exports, with the 
price fall not always offset by increased export vo lume.  The decline in real exports had adverse 
macroeconomic effects and  adverse effects on food  security.  The situation was particularly severe 
for the approximately 43 countries that depended on one commodity – usually coffee, cotton, sugar or 
bananas – for 20 per cent or more of their export earnings.  It was, however, also worth mentioning that some developing countries were important  food importers, and therefore gained from lower 
commodity prices. 
36. With regard to the evolution of the income te rms of trade of different groups of countries 
since the early 1980s, he observed that develope d countries and developing countries (excluding 
LDCs) had been able to offset some of the d ecline of commodity prices by exporting more.  The 
LDCs had not, however, been successful in this rega rd.  The main reason for this was that the LDCs 
had not been able to fully share in the benefits  of technology, which reduced costs and increased 
productivity. WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 8  
 
  37. On the question of the role of trade policy refo rm, he said that the FAO's view was that while 
the overall impact of trade policy reform and lib eralization was positive, there were winners and 
losers among the developing countries.  He said that market access for tropical  products was generally 
not a major issue, as tariffs on these products were low.  Sugar and cotton were different because of 
the high levels of domestic support in some countries.  Tariff escalation was also an issue for some 
commodities.  However, even if tariffs were no l onger a problem, there were still serious supply-side 
constraints in many developing countries.  From the food importing side, liberalization would in the 
short run raise prices.  It would also mean more  international competition for domestic production in 
developing countries, which these countries might not be prepared for. 
38. He said that a number of possible types of ac tions to deal with the problems faced by 
commodity exporters were being discussed, but, due to the time constraint, he would discuss only one, 
namely producer-only agreements  on production and export controls.  The idea of these agreements 
was to restrict the supply of specific commodities on international markets in an attempt to raise 
prices.  It was similar to the international commod ity agreements, but on a smaller scale.  The coffee 
export retention scheme of 2001 was the most rece nt example, and such schemes were also under 
discussion for other commodities such as tea, bananas and cocoa.  In order for such schemes to work, 
he said that it was necessary for a number of factors to be in place.  First, the members of the agreement had to control a high proportion of the world's production of the commodity in question.  Demand for the commodity also had to be price-inel astic, so that prices would increase more than 
proportionately when supplies were cut.  Members additionally had to be modest in their price 
objectives, and had to be highly committed to the sc heme.  The issues to consider included how to 
ensure members' commitment and whether this woul d require the participati on of importing countries, 
whether the schemes were compatible with WTO rules and what institutional mechanisms were 
necessary to administer and implement the schemes. 
39. As an illustration of some of the problems i nvolved in establishing such schemes, he said he 
wished to discuss the 2001 coffee export retention scheme.  This scheme was established in response 
to the collapse in coffee prices in the second half  of the 1990s.  The idea was that coffee producers 
would retain 20 per cent of their exports with the objective of achieving a target price of between 95 
and 105 cents per pound.  Nineteen countries had origin ally expressed interest in joining the scheme, 
but in practice only Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and for a brief period Viet Nam, participated.  Exports and stocks therefore continued to rise and pri ces continued to fall.  He said that he had made 
some calculations based on a model of the coffee market, which showed that if all coffee producers 
and exporters had participated in  the scheme, prices would have risen by 32 per cent and revenues 
would have gone up by 5.5 per cent, though it would still not have been enough to reach the target 
price range.  If only Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Viet Nam participated, prices would have risen by 17 per cent, but the revenues of the four coun tries would have fallen by 6.5 per cent.  Those 
countries that did not participate would have benef ited from the 17 per cent price rise, and would also 
have enjoyed a revenue increase of 17 per cent.  There were, therefore, great incentives not to 
participate in the scheme, which was, in fact, what happened.  
40. In conclusion, he said that the commodity problem was essentially the same as it had always 
been, and LDCs were suffering the most.  Trade lib eralization and policy reform had some benefits, 
but there was a need for capacity building and the ra ising of competitiveness in order to avoid adverse 
effects and to give to all developing countries th e chance to take advantage of any new trading 
opportunities.  Supply control could work in princi ple, but successful schemes of this nature were 
difficult to put in place.  The same could be said of schemes designed to raise prices through promoting demand for commodities.  He observed that the key issue for developing countries and LDCs was to improve the competitiveness of their agricultural sectors.  This could be achieved through increased investments and a reversal of  the downward trend in official development 
assistance (ODA) to the agricultural sector.    WT/COMTD/M/58 
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  41. The Chairman  thanked the representative of the FAO for his presentation and opened the 
floor for questions and comments. 
42. The representative of Pakistan  said that at the last CTD meeting a representative of the 
International Coffee Organization (ICO) had remarked that the profits of the sellers of end products 
continued to rise, even while the downward trend in commodity prices continued.  She wondered if 
the representative from the FAO could comment on this.  She said she was also in terested in the work 
of the CSSD and wondered whether there were curre ntly any notification requirements relating to the 
movement of food aid shipments. 
43. The representative of the European Communities  said that he was interested in issues relating 
to diversification and compe titiveness-raising amongst commodity producers and exporters and 
wondered whether the representative of FAO could ta lk about any work the FAO was doing in this 
area.  He also sought confirmation that the chart dealing with tariff escalation in the FAO representative's slide presentation was based on the EC 's MFN tariffs and therefore ignored the large 
volumes of preferential imports that entered the EC at zero duty.  This was particularly true for imports from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, where there was no tariff 
escalation.  Finally, he inquired whether the re presentative of the FAO could elaborate on the FAO's 
collaboration with other institutions. 
44. The representative of Nigeria
 asked how the FAO could enhance its operations to help 
developing countries benefit from commodity  markets, particularly in Africa.  
45. The representative of the FAO , in response to the remark from Pakistan, said that he agreed 
that there was a large gap between prices at both ends  of the value chain.  The difficulties arose when 
one tried to establish what was the fair share of th e final price that was going to developing country 
exporters.  With regard to Pakist an's question on food aid shipments and the role of the CSSD, he said 
that notifications to the CSSD were largely voluntary.  
46. On the question from the EC on diversif ication and competitiveness-raising, the 
representative of the FAO said that in practice developing countries faced several obstacles in 
attempting to diversify or raise their competitiven ess.  One obstacle related to the structure of 
international markets, and the fact that there were  significant barriers to entry in activities with an 
important value-added component.  It was also impo rtant to keep in mind that benefits would not 
necessarily accrue to developing countries if several of them tried to diversify into similar products.  
There was, therefore, a need fo r assistance to identify viable market opportunities and take advantage 
of those opportunities.  It was also a fact that standards imposed by some countries on imported goods 
were very high, and were often difficult to meet fo r developing country exporters.  With regard to the 
EC's question on the FAO's collaboration with othe r organizations, he said that his Division had 
recently worked with the World Bank on a study on  non-traditional agricultural exports as a possible 
avenue for horizontal diversification.  Collabor ation with the OECD on market outlook studies had 
also been undertaken.  In addition to the other orga nizations he had mentioned earlier, he said that his 
Division was also working closely with the EC, in particular on a major commodity strategy project 
organized by the EC and involving several intern ational organizations including the FAO, UNCTAD, 
the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) and the United Nations Industrial Development 
Organization (UNIDO).  He also confirmed that th e chart dealing with tariff escalation in one of his 
slides did not take into account the preferences offered by the EC. 
47. In response to the question from Nigeria on how the FAO could provide assistance to 
developing countries, he said that a country could make a request to the FAO for technical assistance.  
The Commodities and Trade Division could, in partic ular, offer strategy advice and participate in 
capacity building activities.  He said that some commodity-related activities could additionally be WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 10  
 
  supported by the CFC, though the CFC tended to support production-oriented projects more than 
initiatives for markets and marketing. 
48. The representative of Zambia
 said that the final slide in the FAO representative's slide 
presentation provided some concluding comments and recommendations, but did not mention the 
problem of the concentration of market power in  global chains.  He wondered whether this was 
because nothing could be done about the problem, or whether the issue had not been mentioned 
because it was not related to the work of the FAO. 
49. The representative of the FAO  said that the concentration of market power was an important 
issue, but one that was difficult to monitor a nd respond to.  The FAO was probably not the most 
appropriate international body to deal with it.  He  said that there had been a lot of discussion on how 
producers in developing countries could organize themselves into cooperatives and other such 
arrangements in an attempt to rectify the situation,  but he was not fully convinced that cooperatives 
could match the market power of some of the large retail chains.  
50. The representative of Pakistan  said that she understood the aim of the CSSD was to  monitor 
food aid shipments to ensure that they were not displacing normal commercial trade.  She inquired 
whether any action was taken if it was found that  normal commercial trade was being displaced. 
51. The representative of the FAO  said that action of this nature was not taken by the FAO.  The 
role of the CSSD was to monitor food aid shipments and publish its findings. 
52. The representative of Kenya  sought some clarification on pr oducer-only agreements, as one 
of the negotiating proposals that had been put forward by the African Group concerned such 
agreements.  In particular, she wondered whether such schemes were compatib le with WTO rules.  
She also wanted to know what were some of the in struments that could be used for export control and 
inquired whether the FAO would see export taxes and expor t restrictions having a role to play in this 
regard. 
53. The representative of the FAO  said that he was not an expert on the question of the 
compatibility of producer-only agreements with WT O rules, though he agreed it was an important 
issue.  On the question of the instruments that coul d be used for export control, he gave the example 
of the scheme that had been put in place for co ffee, where coffee was stocked.  The problem, 
however, was that the stocks in such schemes would "overhang" the market, which might counter any benefits from reducing exports.  A better solution would be to channel potential exports into other 
uses and remove them permanently from the market.  Mo re generally for supply control, he said that it 
might be possible to operate a buffer stock scheme, but this required substantial institutional capacity 
which he did not believe any ex isting institution possessed.  He a dded that the recent history of 
quality improvement schemes showed some of the diffi culties which existed in trying to control world 
markets when  importing countries did not fully participate.  
54. The Committee took note
 of the presentation and of all interventions. 
55. The Chairman  said that the Committee had now heard a presentation from one Member – 
Malaysia – and had also heard presentations from the CFC, UNCTAD, the ICO and the FAO.  He 
believed that the presentations had been very useful  in allowing the Committe e to focus its work and 
discussions.  He, therefore, suggested that the CT D continue to hear from Members or relevant 
institutions.  Specific institutions that had b een suggested in past discussions included the 
International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), the World Bank and the International Tropical 
Timber Organization (ITTO).  He inquired whether any Member wished to make a presentation at the 
next meeting of the CTD, or whether the Committ ee wanted an invitation to be extended to any 
particular organization.   WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 11 
 
 
  56. The representative of Kenya  drew the attention of Members to the proposal on commodities 
that had recently been circulated by the African Group and was contained in 
document TN/AG/GEN/18.  She said that her dele gation would consult further with the African 
Group to see whether any country within the Group woul d like to make a presentation to the CTD at a 
future meeting.  She proposed that the Interna tional Cocoa Organization be invited to make a 
presentation at the next CTD meeting.  
57. It was so agreed . 
E. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD/W/143/R EV.2) 
58. The Chairman  recalled that the Committee had agreed at its 56th Session on 3 March 2006 
that its next review of the developmental aspects of the negotiations, based on a revised Secretariat 
document, would take place at the present meeting.  The Secretariat's paper on the "Developmental Aspects of the Doha Round of Negotiations" had, th erefore, been revised for this purpose.  The 
revision, which had been circulated as document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.2, updated the status of the 
negotiations up to the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting of 1 May 2006.  He said that 
there had been some developments in the nego tiations since then, but given the amount of time 
required to prepare a document of this nature, including the time required for translation, it was 
decided that the second revision of the Secretariat paper would provide updates up to May.  He said 
that this should not stop the Committee from discussi ng the developmental aspec ts of the negotiations 
as a whole, including any recent developments. 
59. The representative of Honduras
 said that special and differential treatment (S&D) was vital to 
many developing countries, including his own.  He explained that technical and financial assistance 
were also very important, as many developing countr ies did not have the necessary capacity to fully 
benefit from market access opportunities.  He said th at in the section on services in paragraph 49 of 
the revised document, reference wa s made to the Hong Kong mandate relating to small economies in 
the services negotiations.  However, in the secti ons on agriculture and non-agricultural market access 
(NAMA), no mention was made of small economies.  As  the Secretariat paper was to be periodically 
revised through the negotiations, his delegation want ed the next version to appropriately treat the 
flexibilities the small economies proponents were  asking for in the negotiations.     
60. The representative of El Salvador  said that his delegation agreed with the two conclusions 
from the Secretariat paper.  The first conclusion w as that development issues were being discussed in 
all areas of the negotiations.  In this regard, he  emphasized the importance of S&D for developing 
countries in the Doha Round.  The second conclusi on in the paper referred to the large number of 
proposals which were aimed at addressing the deve lopmental aspects in each area.  El Salvador 
agreed with the conclusion that the possible gain s to developing countries would largely depend on 
the extent to which the proposals were accepted by Members and the manner in which they were 
operationalized after being adopted.  He emph asized that measures should be adopted and 
implemented.  He also made reference to a number of proposals of small economies in such 
negotiating areas as agriculture, NAMA and services,  as well as a proposal for a second extension of 
the transition period for the elimination of expo rt subsidies, which had a strong development 
component but which were not mentioned in the S ecretariat paper.  He hoped that the Secretariat 
would mention these proposals when revising the paper.  
61. The representative of Nicaragua  said that he agreed with Honduras and El Salvador that S&D 
was important for developing countries and was an in tegral part of the Doha Round.  In addition, 
effective technical and financial assistance was import ant for developing countries.  He said that his WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 12  
 
  delegation would continue to support the proposals of the small economies and other proposals which 
corresponded to Nicaragua's development needs.    
62. The representative of Tanzania
 said that he wished to make a comment on paragraph 68 of the 
Secretariat paper in the section on trade facilitation.  He said that all Members knew the benefits that 
would arise from facilitating trade, but develo ping countries had also stressed the cost of 
implementing trade facilitation measures.  It was fo r this reason that developing countries were asking 
for technical assistance and capacity building.  Ca re should be taken to accurately reflect the 
discussions that had taken place in the trade facilitation negotiations. 
63. The representative of Guatemala  supported the interventions made by Honduras, El Salvador 
and Nicaragua.  He said that the Secretariat paper was a factual document which attempted to reflect 
the development-related proposals which had been submitted in the various negotiating bodies.  His 
delegation wanted to see the sm all economies' proposals reflected in the Secretariat paper, and 
suggested that the paper could make referenc e to document WT/COMTD/SE/W/21 which had been 
submitted by the small economies in the CTD in Dedicated Session.  The document contained a summary of the proposals that had been made by the small economies.   
64. The representative of Pakistan
 said that she wished to make a comment on paragraph 48 of 
the Secretariat paper in the section on services.  She said that while the paragraph made reference to the negotiations on domes tic regulation, the advanced stage of these negotiations had not been 
appropriately reflected.  Her delegation, therefore, re quested the Secretariat to treat in more detail the 
status of the negotiations on domestic regulation.  
65. The representative of the United States
 said that the Secretariat paper was a living document 
which continued to evolve.  While  her delegation had not yet had th e opportunity to review the paper 
in its entirety, she wished to note that the revi sion rightly put the benefits of liberalization and 
substantial reductions in tariffs foremost in its discussions on the possible gains from the Doha 
Round.  Her delegation believed that  the core contribution to development in the Doha Round would 
come from global market opening and the creation of new trade flows.  She said that her delegation 
was disappointed that the Secretariat had little new material to work with when revising its paper 
since there had not been much progress in the negotia tions, but hoped that there would soon be more 
material to incorporate in a new revision of the Secretariat paper. 
66. The representative of India  said that his delegation was pleased to note that a number of 
comments it had made on the previous version of the Secretariat paper had been incorporated in the 
revision.  The revised paper was being studied by  his delegation and comments would be submitted in 
due course as necessary.  He believed that the paper provided a very useful overview of the 
negotiations and agreed that it should be updated regularly and used as a basis for discussions.  
67. The representative of Costa Rica  said that his delegation had made extensive comments on 
the first version of the Secretariat paper.  The revised paper was currently being studied by his 
delegation, but he wished to make some prelim inary comments.  He said that his delegation had 
observed in the first version of the paper that refe rence to the offensive and defensive interests of 
developing countries had been made in the secti on on NAMA but not in the section on agriculture.  
He recognized that the revised paper had treated many of his delegation's concerns and was more 
balanced than its predecessors.  However, while th e revised paper did mention the delicate balance of 
Members' offensive and defensive interests in mark et access, he believed that a sufficiently clear 
reference had not been made to the balance of offens ive and defensive interests with regard to S&D in 
the NAMA and agriculture negotiations, which Costa Rica believed was important.  He agreed that 
the Secretariat paper was a living document that should be under constant revision as developments 
took place in the negotiations.   WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 13 
 
 
  68. The representative of the European Communities  said that the revised Secretariat paper 
provided a useful update of the status of the ne gotiations.  The paper also reminded Members that 
there was more to the negotiations than the 'triangl e' of issues that was often referred to, namely 
market access and domestic support in  agriculture as well as industria l market access.  In addition to 
other aspects of the agriculture and NAMA negotiations, it was important to keep in mind the other 
areas of the negotiations including services, rules, tr ade facilitation, geographical indications and the 
LDC-specific elements.  Furthermore, there were subjects that were not formally part of the 
negotiations but were important complements to th e Doha Round, such as technical assistance or the 
Integrated Framework (IF).  Another example wa s Aid for Trade, which was understandably not 
treated in the Secretariat paper but on which work had advanced in the last months.  He said that the 
paper also provided a reminder of the diversity of  interests among Members and the negotiations that 
remained to be undertaken in order to reach a conclusion to the Doha Round as soon as possible.  
While his delegation was still reviewing the details of the paper, he said that the paper was useful in 
providing a global picture of the areas under negotiation.   His delegation would continue to work with 
Members to achieve an adequate development di mension to the Doha Round and to progress on other 
outstanding issues relating to development such as  Aid for Trade and the operationalization of the 
enhanced IF. 
69. The representative of Canada  said that his delegation had undertaken a preliminary review of 
the revised Secretariat paper and had some textual suggestions to make, which he would transmit to 
the Secretariat in the next few days. 
70. The representative of Zambia  said that Annex F of the Hong Kong Declaration, referred to in 
paragraph 72 of the revised Secretariat paper, was a framework agreement and that Members were to 
discuss how to implement the proposals contained in that Annex. 
71. The Chairman  said that delegations seemed pleased with  the basic idea behind the Secretariat 
paper and the fact that it attempted to provide an overview of the developmental aspects of the 
negotiations.  While it was not easy to reflect the concerns of all Members, he believed that the 
balance would improve though each revision of the pa per.  He encouraged Members to submit their 
comments in written form to the Secretariat.  He hoped there would soon be substantial progress in the negotiations so that a revised Secretariat paper could be prepared to refl ect these developments.  
He proposed that the Committee take note of all in terventions and continue its discussion under this 
agenda item at its next meeting.  
72. It was so agreed
.  
F. REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY-FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS TO 
LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
- C OMMUNICATION BY JAPAN (WT/COMTD/W/150) 
73. The Chairman  said that a communication under this agenda item had been received from 
Japan and had been circulated as document WT/COMTD /W/150.  He said he also wished to mention 
that the LDC Group had recently made a submi ssion on the implementation of the Hong Kong 
Decision on duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access.  The submission had been made in the CTD in Special Session, the Negotiating Group on Market Access and the Committee on Agriculture 
in Special Session and was contained in document TN/CTD/W/31, TN/MA/W/78 and TN/AG/GEN/23.  He also made reference to an earlier proposal by the LDC Group on rules of origin 
that had been submitted in the same three bodi es as documents TN/CTD/W/30, TN/MA/W/74 and 
TN/AG/GEN/20. WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 14  
 
  74. The representative of Japan
 said that he wished to highlight some important messages 
contained in document WT/COMTD/W/ 150.  Paragraph 2 of the paper indicated that Japan was fully 
committed to implementing its "Development Initiativ e for Trade" and to providing DFQF market 
access for products from LDCs.  He said that his gove rnment was currently in the preparatory process 
for the necessary legislative amendment and was conducting hearings with all parties including 
domestic interest groups and beneficiaries.  In this  regard, paragraph 6 of the document indicated that 
the governments of LDCs would have opportunities to express their interests and needs through 
diplomatic channels.  After concluding the hear ings, a draft proposal on the amendment would be 
prepared by the end of 2006.  As mentioned in paragraph 9 of the document, the draft legislation 
would be discussed in the Japanese Diet in around Februa ry 2007.  Given that th e Japanese fiscal year 
began in April, the procedures were being cond ucted with a view to providing the new DFQF 
treatment as early as the 2007 fiscal year.  He said that his delegation was willing to provide to the CTD details of Japan's DFQF market access pr ovisions for LDCs, and urged other developed 
countries, and developing countries declaring themse lves in a position to do so, to notify the progress 
they were making in implementing the Hong Kong Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs.  
75. The representative of Zambia
, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the LDC Group was 
encouraged by the positive effo rts that were being made by the Japanese government towards 
implementing the Hong Kong Decision.  However, notifications on implementation were just one 
aspect of the Decision.  She confirmed that the LDC Group had recently tabled two proposals, one 
relating to rules of origin and the other on market  access, and said that the Group believed that the 
appropriate body to discuss the proposal s was the CTD in Special Session.  
76. The representative of the European Communities  said that his delegation took note of the 
submission from Japan and looked forward to futu re submissions keeping the CTD informed of 
Japan's implementation of DFQF market access for LDCs.   
77. The representative of the United States  said that her delegation appreciated the opportunity to 
continue the dialogue in the CTD on the implem entation of the Hong Kong Decision and hoped that 
other Members shared the US' commitment to transp arency.  She said that the submission by Japan 
was appreciated, and that her delegation looked fo rward to learning more about the implementation 
plans of other Members, including developing countries.  The intention of her delegation was to continue to provide information to WTO Members on the domestic consultative process in the US and 
how Members could participate in the process.  
78. The Committee took note
 of all interventions. 
G. EXPORT HELPDESK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES – PRESENTATION BY THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES  
79. The Chairman  introduced Mr. Matthew Baldwin, who w as the Head of the unit dealing with 
market access and trade relations with the US, Ca nada, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), 
Australia and New Zealand in the EC's Directorate-General for Trade.   
80. The representative of the European Communities  said that the EC's Export Helpdesk for 
Developing Countries (EHDC), launched in February 2004, was a free online service.  It was a concrete and practical tool designed to help deve loping countries integrate further into the global 
economy.  While the EC already offered prefer ential access to its market for products from 
developing countries and LDCs, the E HDC provided direct help to developing country exporters to 
allow them to learn about and benefit from the EC's preferential trade programmes.  
81. He said that the EHDC could be visited onlin e at: http://exporthelp.europa.eu.  From the 
EHDC homepage, several types of information coul d be obtained by clicking  on the relevant links,  WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 15 
 
 
  including information on the EC's import tariffs, rules of origin, customs documentation requirements, 
tax requirements and trade statistics.  Visito rs could also click on the increasingly popular 
"marketplace" link, where request s and offers on particular produc ts from importers and exporters 
were compiled.  By clicking on "links" from th e EHDC homepage, the visitor had information on 
other useful websites.  Visitors could also send in a specific question by clicking on "contact" from 
the homepage. 1   
82. He said that the principal goal of the EHDC project was to provide a "one-stop shop" for 
information on exporting from a developing country to  the EC. Confirmation of the importance of this 
service was provided by the growing statistics of its  use.  When the service began in 2004, about 
1,500 visits were recorded per day.  The figure rose to 3,700 visits per day by the end of 2005, and the 
latest figures showed 5,000 visits per day.  Ab out 140 detailed questions we re being received per 
month and between 80 and 90 offers and requests were being placed on the "marketplace" section 
every month.  The main visitors to the EHDC website were from Latin America, accounting for 
60 per cent of developing country visitors.  About  20 per cent were from Asia and only 6 per cent 
from the ACP countries.  The country which used th e service most was Peru, followed by Argentina, 
Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay.  It was difficult to identify all the reasons why the Latin 
American countries were using the service more than other developing countries, though there was evidence that the limited access to informatics and networks was the reason behind the relatively low 
usage rate in Africa.  The EC was making efforts to  inform as many developing country exporters as 
possible of the EHDC, and was also keen to receive  feedback on how the service could be improved. 
An internal assessment of the EHDC was add itionally being undertaken by the EC.     
83. The Chairman
 thanked the representative of the EC for the presentation and opened the floor 
for questions or comments. 
84. The representative of Pakistan  said that her delegation had once submitted through the EHDC 
website a question on the EC's rice regi me, but had not received a response. 
85. The representative of the European Communities  said that it was rare that a response was not 
sent to a question received.  He did not know what ha d happened in the particular case referred to by 
the representative of Pakistan, but asked her delegati on to re-submit the question.  On a more general 
note, he said that while the EHDC was a very useful tool for developing country exporters, it could not promise too much.  It certainly was a good starting point for exporters in developing countries, but it was important for them to use the service to, for ex ample, build relationships with importers in the 
EC.  He continued by saying that there were some services run by individual EC member states which 
were also useful.  For example, the Swedish gove rnment ran a system called "Open Trade Gate" and 
the Netherlands had a fee-paying consultancy service to  help exporters work out an export plan.  To 
conclude, he said that the main objective of the EHDC and other similar services was to help developing country exporters gain real and concrete benefits from market access opportunities in the 
EC.  
86. The Committee took note
 of the presentation and of all interventions.    
H. OTHER BUSINESS  
87. The Chairman  said that he wished to raise the issue of e-commerce in the CTD.  He said that 
the CTD was one of four subsidiary bodies desi gnated to carry out work on e-commerce under the 
WTO Work Programme on e-commerce.  However, the CTD had agreed at its 53rd Session in 
May 2005 that it would only revert to the agenda item concerning e-commerce if requested to do so 
by Members.  It was for this reason that e-co mmerce had not been on the CTD's agenda since the 
                                                      
1 An online demonstration of the website was given.   WT/COMTD/M/58 
Page 16  
 
  May 2005 meeting.  He continued by saying that  Members had agreed in paragraph 46 of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration to reinvigorate the Work Programme on e-commerce, including the development-related issues under the Work Pr ogramme.  In light of paragraph 46 of the 
Hong Kong Declaration, he asked Members whether they wished to treat  the issue of e-commerce 
once again in the CTD. 
88. No Member took the floor. 
89. The Chairman
 said that Members possibly needed some time to reflect on the matter, and 
proposed that the item concerning e-commerce be pl aced on the agenda for the next CTD meeting.  
90. It was so agreed . 
91. The Chairman  said that a representative of the Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC) wished to make an intervention relating to trade-related technical assistance and 
the financial situation of the trust funds. 
92. The representative of the Institute fo r Training and Technical Cooperation  said that the 
financial situation concerning the funding of technical  assistance (TA) was cr itical.  There was at 
present an amount of CHF 22.9 million to finance the activities included in the 2006 TA Plan.  This 
was CHF 1.1 million short of the 2006 target amou nt of CHF 24 million, which was to have been 
received in the Doha Development Agenda Globa l Trust Fund (DDAGTF) by 30 June 2006.  The 
target date had been missed, and the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration had been 
informed of the critical financial situation on 7 June 2006.  
93. He explained that the amount of CHF 22.9 m illion consisted of an opening balance of 
CHF 7.6 million carried over from the previous y ear, fresh money contributio ns received in 2006 of 
CHF 11.8 million, earmarked funds already paid of CHF 0.9 million and outstanding pledges of 
CHF 2.6 million.  In order to meet the target amount of CHF 24 million for 2006, it was necessary to receive the CHF 2.6 million in outstanding pledges a nd additional contributions of CHF 1.1 million.  
He said that expenditure in the DDAGTF up the present time amounted to CHF 17.5 million, 
representing an implementation rate of 73 per cent,  but that further implementation of the 2006 TA 
Plan could continue only as far as the balance in the DDAGTF permitted.  He added that, on the 
assumption that the target amount for 2007 would remain CHF 24 million, further contributions of CHF 6 million would need to be pl edged and paid by the end of December 2006.  This was necessary 
in order to build up a 25 per cent reserve for 2007, in accordance with the requirements of the Terms 
of Reference of the DDAGTF.  On the basis of the figures quoted, he asked donors to make urgent 
contributions to the DDAGTF.  
94. He said that he also wished to address the Co mmittee on the subject of the Mission Internship 
Programme (MIP), which was a programme financed  by contributions from Denmark and Ireland to 
allow LDCs and other small and vulnerable economies (SVEs) the possibility of having additional 
staff working in their missions.  To date, there ha d been very few applications for the MIP, and a 
substantial amount of funds were, therefore, still av ailable.  He, however, warned that the funds may 
have to be returned if they were not utilized s oon, and therefore encourag ed applications to the 
programme.  He said that the ITTC had circulated a note to Members at the end of May 2006, outlining the requirements to qualif y for the MIP and how to apply.  The application process consisted 
essentially of sending a letter either to the WTO's Hu man Resources Division or to the Director of the 
ITTC.  
95. The representative of Japan
 said that his delegation had ma de a contribution to the DDAGTF 
a few days ago.  He inquired whether the represen tative of the ITTC in his presentation had included 
this contribution as funds already received.  WT/COMTD/M/58 
 Page 17 
 
 
  96. The representative of Costa Rica  said that he had noted that the MIP was a programme to 
assist LDCs and other SVEs.  He said, however, that  there was currently no de finition of SVEs in the 
WTO.  He, therefore, sought clarification as to which developing country Members apart from LDCs 
could apply to the programme. 
97. The representative of Ecuador  said that her delegation would be pleased to submit an 
application for the MIP if it met the requirements. 
98. The representative of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation , in response to the 
question from Japan, said that the Japanese contribu tion had been counted as pledged money in his 
summary of the financial situation.  However, th e categorization of the Japanese contribution did not 
make a difference to the fundamental issue, which was that the funds in th e DDAGTF were below the 
target amount of CHF 24 million.  In response to the remarks from Costa Rica  and Ecuador, he said 
that while the donors had some prerogative to deci de which countries could benefit from the MIP, 
attempts would be made to accommodate as many requests as possible.  Up to the present, the 
majority of applications had been accommodated. 
99. The representative of Rwanda  thanked Denmark and Ireland for the MIP and expressed the 
hope that his delegation would be ab le to benefit from the programme. 
100. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________