WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/81 
3 April 2006 
 
 (06-1542) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   Spanish 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM CHILE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, 
GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, MEXICO, NICARAGUA, 
PARAGUAY AND URUGUAY 
 
 
 The following communication from the delegations  of Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay, dated 30 March 2006, is being 
circulated ahead of the meeting of the Negotia ting Group to be held from 5 to 7 April 2006. 
  This contribution is intended to stimulate di scussion on special and differential treatment in 
the context of the negotiations on trade facilitation.   It sets out no final positions and the co-sponsors 
accordingly reserve the right to revise, enlarge on and/or supplement any of the ideas expressed. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT:  APPLICATION AND 
INTER-RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMITMENTS ARISING FROM  
THE NEGOTIATIONS ON TRADE FACILITATION 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. In the current negotiations on trade facilitation sp ecial and differential tr eatment is of crucial 
importance, being a principle which, if given pr oper form, will enable the developing and least 
developed countries, as agreed in Annex D, to be nefit from trade facilitation and have the necessary 
flexibilities to undertake commitments without having to fulfil obligations that exceed their capacity. 
2. The importance of special and differential tr eatment has been acknowledged by Members in 
oral statements made at meetings of the Negotia ting Group and in valuable written contributions such 
as those from the African Group (TN/TF/W/33 and 56), Pakistan and Switzerland (TN/TF/W/63), Mauritius on behalf of the ACP Group (TN/TF/W/73) and a large group of Latin American countries
1 
(TN/TF/W/41). 
3. With a view to this principle being applied, Ministers recommended in the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration that the Negotiating Group "d eepen and intensify its negotiations on the issue 
of S&DT, with a view to arriving at S&DT provisions that are precise, effective and operational and that allow for necessary flexibility in implementing th e results of the negotiations".  They furthermore 
reaffirmed the linkages between the elements of Annex D and recommended th at further negotiations 
on S&DT build on input presented by Members in the context of measures related to Articles V, VIII, 
and X of the GATT 1994 and in their proposals of a cross-cutting nature. 
                                                     
 
1 Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Co sta Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
El Salvador, Guatemala, Hondur as, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. TN/TF/W/81 
Page 2  
 
  II. PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL 
4. The present communication aims within that fra mework to submit to the Negotiating Group 
for consideration a mechanism for special and differential treatment in trade facilitation for 
developing and least developed countries with a view to giving practical effect to the inter-
relationship between the main elements of Anne x D as described in document TN/TF/W/41 "Links 
between the elements of Annex D". 
5. In addition, to help the Negotiating Group to move on to the text-based phase of the 
negotiations, the co-sponsors suggest language in sec tion IV below, which gives wording and a form 
such as the future agreement on trade facilitation
2 might use for the S&DT mechanism we propose. 
III. PROPOSED MECHANISM 
6. Document TN/TF/W/41 states that the modalities set out in Annex D should guide the 
negotiating process and be adequately reflected in the final outcome of the negotiations.  The inter-
relationship between the scope of the commitments and the other elements of Annex D accordingly 
constitutes the basis on which to design special  and differential treatment in this area. 
7. The mechanism we propose would go into ope ration on completion of the negotiations on 
trade facilitation, once the specific commitments to be undertaken by Members have been defined.  
The mechanism consists of four main phases:  (i) capacity self-assessment;  (ii) notification;  (iii) capacity development;  and (iv) confirmati on of capacity acquisition and compliance with the 
obligation. 
A. 
CAPACITY SELF -ASSESSMENT  
8. The period between the signing and the entry into  force of the agreement on trade facilitation 
will need to be long enough to a llow developing and least developed Members to carry out a self-
assessment of their capacity to meet the obligations  agreed on.  During this phase, the Members in 
question will identify the obligations in the agreemen t that they will be able to meet immediately, 
those they will be able to meet within a specified period and those they will be able to meet only when 
they have acquired the necessary capacity. 
9. The capacity self-assessment phase will be governed by transitional provisions that could be a 
part either of the agreement on trade facilitation itsel f or of the Ministerial Decision adopted at the end 
of the current negotiations. 
10. Capacity self-assessment will be carried out, if  the Member so requires, with assistance from 
a body that will be created to supervise implementa tion of the WTO agreement on trade facilitation.  
The body will start to operate immediately after the signing of the agreement.3 
11. The international organizations referred to in Annex D and other re levant organizations 
should cooperate with the said supervisory body in lending any such assistance as Members may need 
in order to carry out their self-assessments. 
                                                      
2 The "agreement on trade facilitati on" as referred to in this document should not be construed as 
indicating any final legal format to be adopted as an outcome to these negotiations. 
3 The membership and functions of the body set up to supervise implementation of the agreement will 
be agreed by Members in the context of the present negotiations.  TN/TF/W/81 
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  B. NOTIFICATION  
12. The obligations included in the agreement on trade facilitation will be binding on all 
Members as from entry into force of the agreemen t, except for those duly notified to the WTO in 
accordance with the procedure set out in the paragraph below. 
13. Before the entry into force of the agreem ent on trade facilitation, developing and least 
developed Members must notify to the WTO: 
(a) The obligations they are unable to meet  because they lack th e necessary capacity;  
and 
(b) the obligations compliance with which is not subject to capacity-building and which 
they will be able to meet after a period to be specified in the notification which may 
not exceed six years. 
14. Obligations notified to the WT O in accordance with the previous paragraph will not be 
subject to the Dispute Settlement Understanding until  notification by the Member that it has acquired 
the capacity to fulfil them (13a) or until expiry of the period for meeting them specified in the 
notification (13b). 
15. The WTO Secretariat will provide a register in which to enter the information notified by 
Members.  The register will be available on the Members' web site of the WTO Internet portal. 
C. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT  
16. Once the agreement on trade facilitation has entere d into force, Members that so request will 
work with donors and relevant inte rnational organizations in form ulating and implementing capacity-
building plans.  The plans will aim to enable th ese Members to meet the obligations notified under 
paragraph 13(a).  The main components of each  plan – donor, time estimated for acquiring capacity 
and a verification plan – will also be notified by these Members to the WTO. 
17. Three years after entry into force of the ag reement, any Members which, for want of a donor 
or for any other reason, have not managed to formul ate the capacity-building pl ans needed to meet all 
obligations in the agreement must  so inform the body responsible for supervising implementation of 
the agreement.  This body will coor dinate any actions needed to enable the said Members to formulate 
and implement their capacity-building plans.  D. 
CONFIRMATION OF CAPACITY ACQUISITI ON AND FULFILMENT OF THE OBLIGATION  
18. Every capacity-building plan will have a mech anism for supervising its implementation and 
confirming that the capacity has been acquired.  It  will be called the "verification mechanism" and 
will be made up of the recipient Member, the donor and the agency responsible for implementation of 
the plan. 
19. If the mechanism verifies that the Member h as acquired the capacity to meet an agreed 
obligation, the Member will so notify the WTO with in six months at most from the date of the 
verification.  The obligation will become binding for the Member as from the date of this notification. 
20. Obligations not subject to capacity-building th at a Member will be able to meet once a 
specified period has elapsed and that have been no tified to the WTO Secretariat in accordance with 
paragraph 13(b), will enter into force upon expiry  of the period specified in the notification. TN/TF/W/81 
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  IV. PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL FOR A TEXT 
21. The procedure described in the previous sec tion is reproduced in the preliminary text 
proposed below.  The proposed text could be part of the chapter on implementation of special and differential treatment in the future agreement on  trade facilitation and, as appropriate, of the 
transitional provisions to apply between the signi ng and the entry into force of the agreement. 
1. Provisions on special and differential treatment 
 (i) Developing and least developed Memb ers will enjoy special and differential 
treatment in accordance with the following provisions and other relevant provisions 
set forth in other articles of this Agreement. 
 
 (ii) The obligations set forth in this Agr eement shall be binding from the entry into force 
of the Agreement, except for those notified by the said Members to the WTO Secretariat prior to the entry into force of this Agreement.  They shall 
comprise: 
 
  (a) Obligations compliance with whic h will be subject to acquisition of the 
necessary capacity;  and 
   (b) obligations to be met upon expiry of a period specified in the notification 
which shall not exceed six years from the date of the said notification.  These 
obligations shall become binding upon expiry of the notified period. 
 
 (iii) Obligations notified pursuant to (ii)(a ) above shall not be subject to the Dispute 
Settlement Understanding until such time as the Member has notified acquisition of the capacity to meet them.  Obligations notified under (ii)(b) above shall be subject to the Dispute Settlement Understanding as fro m the date set in the notification. 
 
 (iv) The WTO Secretariat shall provide a Trade Facilitation Register for entry of 
notifications sent by Members.  The Register shall be published on the Members' web site of the WTO Internet portal. 
  (v) Any Member that lacks the capacity to m eet an obligation set in this Agreement and 
that has so informed the WTO Secretariat pursuant to (ii)(a) above, shall also notify to 
the WTO Secretariat within three years at mo st from the date of entry into force of 
this Agreement, the plans it has drawn up to acquire such capacity.  Any Member that 
so requests will be assisted by the intern ational organizations or other relevant 
organizations in formulating and im plementing capacity-building plans. 
 
 (vi) If, three years after the entry into fo rce of this Agreement, any Member has not 
managed to draw up a plan enabling it to ac quire the capacity to meet one or more 
obligations of this Agreement, that Member  shall so inform the Body responsible for 
supervising implementation of the Agreement.  The said Body shall assist any Member that so requests in taking the necess ary steps to formulate and implement its 
capacity-building plans. 
  (vii) Verification of capacity acquisition by a Member shall be carried out by means of a 
mechanism which will be part of the cap acity-building plan in question.  The 
mechanism shall be made up of the reci pient Member, the donor and the agency 
responsible for implementation of the plan.  TN/TF/W/81 
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   (viii) Once its capacity acquisition has been verified, the Member shall so inform the 
WTO Secretariat within six months at most from the date of the verification. 
  (ix) Obligations notified under (ii)(a) above shall be binding for the Member as from the 
date on which the Member notifies acquisition of the capacity to comply with them.  
Obligations notified under (ii)(b) above shall be binding for the Member as from the 
date of expiry of the period specified in the notification. 
 
2. Transitional provisions 
(a) In the period between the signing and th e entry into force of this Agreement, 
developing and least developed Members sh all carry out capacity self-assessments for 
the purpose of ascertaining their capacity  to meet the agreed obligations. 
(b) Upon completion of the capacity self-assessme nts, these Members shall proceed with 
notification pursuant to (ii)(a) and (b) above. 
(c) Members that lack the capacity to carry out  a capacity self-assessment shall so inform 
the Body responsible for supervising impl ementation of this Agreement.  The said 
Body shall take the necessary steps to en able such Members to obtain the support 
needed to carry out the capacity self-assessments. TN/TF/W/81 
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  ANNEX I 
 
Example of Notification Pursuant to Pa ragraph 13 and Paragr aph (ii)(a) and (b
) 
 
 
Notifying Member XXXXXXXXXXX 
Obligation/measure Compliance subject to a 
specified period Compliance subject to 
acquisition of capacity 
Publication of trade laws and regulations (Discipline x) (2) years  
Publication of trade laws and 
regulations on the Internet. 
(Discipline y)  Yes 
Notification of trade regulations 
(Discipline z)  (5) years  
Establishment of enquiry 
points/single national contact points/contact points 
(Discipline xy)  Yes 
 
  TN/TF/W/81 
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  ANNEX II 
 
Phases of the Proposed Mechanism  
 
 
PHASE PERIOD OR DEADLINE APPLICABLE 
PROVISIONS 
SIGNING OF THE AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE FACILITATION 
CAPACITY SELF-ASSESSMENT 
NOTIFICATION 
The following shall be notified:  
(a) obligations  that cannot be met because 
the necessary capacity is lacking;  and 
(b) obligations able to be met upon 
completion of a period to be specified in the notification and not to exceed six years. The period shall be long 
enough to enable 
developing and least 
developed Members to carry out self-assessment 
and notification. TRANSITIONAL 
PROVISIONS 
ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE 
AGREEMENT 
Non-notified obligations become binding.  
FORMULATION OF CAPACITY-
BUILDING PLANS 
NOTIFICATION OF CAPACITY-
BUILDING PLANS The period for formulating 
and notifying each 
capacity-building plan shall be three years at most from 
entry into force of the 
Agreement. 
IMPLEMENTATION OF CAPACITY-
BUILDING PLANS Capacity-building plans 
shall be implemented 
within the period specified 
in the plans. 
VERIFICATION OF CAPACITY 
ACQUISITION To be carried out 
immediately after 
implementation of the 
capacity-building plan. 
NOTIFICATION OF CAPACITY 
ACQUISITION To be carried out within six 
months at most from 
verification of capacity acquisition. 
ENFORCEABILITY OF THE 
COMMITMENT As from the date of the 
notification of capacity 
acquisition. PROVISIONS OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE 
FACILITATION THAT 
RELATE TO SPECIAL 
AND DIFFERENTIAL 
TREATMENT 
__________