RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/SE/M/19 
20 August 2009 
 (09-3954) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Nineteenth Dedicated Session  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 15 JULY 2009 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Shree B.C. Servansing (Mauritius) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. PARAGRAPH 41 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION :  MONITORING 
PROGRESS OF THE SMALL ECONOMIES ' PROPOSALS IN THE NEGOTIATING AND WTO 
OTHER BODIES .............................................................................................................................1  
- COMPILATION PAPER PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIAT (WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/REV.3 -  
WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/REV.3/CORR.1 ) ........................................................................................1  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .........................................................................................................................3  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The draft agenda for the meeting as cont ained in Airgram WTO/AIR/3399, issued on 
1 July 2009, was adopted . 
B. PARAGRAPH 41 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION :  MONITORING PROGRESS OF 
THE SMALL ECONOMIES ' PROPOSALS IN THE NEGOT IATING AND WTO OTHER BODIES  
- COMPILATION PAPER PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIAT (WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/REV.3 -  
WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/REV.3/CORR.1)  
2. The Chairman  recalled the mandate agreed to in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
concerning the Work Programme on Small Economi es, mainly that the Committee on Trade and 
Development in Dedicated Session continue to  monitor the progress of the small economies' 
proposals in the negotiating groups and other WTO b odies, with the aim of providing responses to the 
trade-related issues of small economies.  He also recalled that in July 2006, at the 15th Dedicated 
Session, the Secretariat had been requested to pr epare a document that would assist the Dedicated 
Session in its monitoring role.  The Secretariat had also been requested to periodically update the 
compilation paper to reflect the latest developments  in the negotiations.  A previous version of the 
compilation paper was circulated in November 2008.   The Chairman said that the Secretariat had 
updated the compilation paper and that the la test version was circulated as document 
WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/Rev.3.  A corrigendum - WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/Rev.3/Corr.1 – was also 
circulated in English only. 
3. The Chairman  pointed out that the main changes in the document could be found in the 
sections on the Agriculture and NAMA negotiations, wher e the relevant paragraphs of the latest draft 
modalities texts presented by the resp ective Chairmen last December had been included.  The paper 
also reflected a new proposal by the G-33 regarding the treatment small and vulnerable economies 
(SVEs) could receive under the Special Sa feguards Mechanism in Agriculture.   WT/COMTD/SE/M/19 
Page 2  
 
  4. The representative of Barbados,
 on behalf of the SVE proponent s, applauded the continuing 
work of the Secretariat and the cooperation of Memb ers in the work of the Dedicated Session.  He 
said that the relevance of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) to the SVE mandate and to future work remained critical.  The SVE pr oponents had not placed any new work before the 
Committee as they continued to focus on ne gotiating activity in NAMA, Agriculture, Trade 
Facilitation and Rules (especially Fisheries), and in the Article 27.4 issue in the Committee on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  This focu s had been captured in the compilation document.  
He said that significant progress had been made ove r the years in the Work Programme on Small 
Economies.  Members had overcome the challenges evident in the way the mandate for the Work 
Programme had been constructed in November 2001.   Members had seen, in December 2005, that 
Ministers had urged Members to adopt specific meas ures that would facilitate the integration of the 
SVEs.  With respect to NAMA, Ministers instruct ed "the Negotiating Group to establish ways to 
provide flexibilities for these Members…..".  The SVE proponents were pleased that Members had 
responded favourably to the Ministers' call for ac tion and hoped for a speedy conclusion of the DDA 
which would formalize the trade-relate d responses to the SVE's concerns.  
5. Since it was Ambassador Trevor Clarke's last meeting of the Dedicated Session, the Chairman
 
expressed his appreciation for the work done by the Ambassador of Barbados  as coordinator of the 
SVE proponents and also as former Chairman of the CTD.  His leadership had made it possible to drive forward the Work Programme on Sma ll Economies and achieve solid results.  
6. The representative of El Salvador
 joined the representative of Barbados in thanking the 
Secretariat for the preparation of the compilation paper.  His delegation also wanted to express 
appreciation to Ambassador Trevor Clarke for hi s role as coordinator of the SVE proponents, and 
considered his support and leadership to have been important in promoting the interests of the SVEs 
in the current negotiations and in other WTO bodies. 
7. He said that pursuant to the Hong Kong Minist erial mandate, El Salvador considered it 
relevant to emphasize the importance of presenting, to the Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial 
Conference, a report on the progress made and provisions adopted since the last Ministerial 
Conference.  The report should also be accomp anied by new recommendations, including those 
relating to the future work of the WTO Work  Programme on Small Economies.  His delegation 
considered the inclusion of this issue in the next  Ministerial Conference to be duly substantiated by 
the decisions adopted by the Ministers in Hong Kong and Doha.  The issue could also be important in 
the context of the effects of the global economic  and financial crisis on small economies like 
El Salvador. 
8. The representative of the United States  thanked the Secretariat for producing the revised 
compilation paper and noted that it would be providi ng the Secretariat with some suggestions on the 
formatting of the next compilation document. 
9. The Chairman  recalled that at the last Dedicated Session, the proponents of SVEs had 
suggested a new area of work.  It concerned the im pact that the financial crisis was having on small 
and vulnerable economies, especially on the demand fo r their goods and services, and the implications 
for their key sectors such as tourism, financial services, fisheries, textiles, light manufacturing and primary agriculture production.  He reported that since the beginning of the year the proponents of 
SVEs and the Secretariat's Financial Crisis Task Fo rce had held a couple of consultation meetings to 
monitor the situation and to gather as much inform ation as possible in order to identify the scope and 
possible repercussions of the economic crisis on the SVEs.  The SVE proponents had communicated 
their concerns to the Task Force which had take n them into consideration when preparing the 
Director-General's monitoring reports to the Trad e Policy Review Body (TPRB), including the latest 
one that had been issued on 1 July 2009.    WT/COMTD/SE/M/19 
 Page 3 
 
 
  10. The Dedicated Session took note  of all interventions.   
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
11. No matter was raised under "Other Business". 
12. The meeting was adjourned . 
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