RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/39 
25 February 2005 
 
 (05-0805) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Thirty-Ninth Session  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 19 AND 20 JANUARY 2005 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Ian de Jong (Netherlands) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. REQUEST BY THE LDC S MADE AT THE 38TH SESSION OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE FOR 
THE SECRETARIAT TO PREPARE A PAPER ON ISSUES RELATING TO THE TERMINATION 
OF THE AGREEMENT ON TEXTILES AND CLOTHING ....................................................................1  
C. OTHER BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................3  
 
 A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. Opening the meeting, the Chairman  expressed his deep condolences to the Tsunami victims 
and to Members that had been struck by that unprecedented catastrophe.  He was pleased to see the 
solidarity of Members shown in favour of the Ts unami victims during the Ministerial Meeting on 
Humanitarian Assistance to Tsunami-Affected Co mmunities convened by the UN on 11 January 2005 
in Geneva.  He hoped that the Geneva spirit woul d prevail to tackle all other problems facing the 
world. 
2. The Sub-Committee adopted  the draft agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/2474. 
3. The Chairman  clarified that it was his intention to limit the meeting to one item only.  He 
hoped that an agreement acceptable to all on the follo w-up action to the request made by LDCs at the 
last session of the Sub-Committee would be reached.  He recalled that the Secretariat had scheduled 
three more meetings of the Sub-Committee in the y ear and that the next meeting had been scheduled 
for March 2005. 
B. REQUEST BY THE LDC S MADE AT THE 38TH SESSION OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE FOR THE 
SECRETARIAT TO PREPARE A PAPER ON ISSUES RELATING TO THE TERMINATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON TEXTILES AND CLOTHING  
4. The Chairman  said that the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) stood terminated from 
1 January 2005 and all quotas under that Agreement had been eliminated.  He recalled the discussion 
at the Sub-Committee's last session on the submission by LDCs of a paper contained in document WT/COMTD/LDC/W/36, which outlined their concerns  in the textiles and clothing sector after the 
termination of the Agreement on Textiles and Clot hing (ATC).  The LDCs requested that the 
Secretariat prepare a paper on the problems and im pact resulting from the termination of the ATC.  
He recalled that the discussion at the last session had not yielded a consensus to mandate the Secretariat to prepare such a paper.  In view of a similar submission in the Council for Trade in Goods 
(CTG) and ongoing consultations in that body, the Sub-Committee had agreed that its Chair would 
undertake consultations with the Chair of the CTG and would report back to the Sub-Committee at a 
future meeting.  Since then, he had undertaken ex tensive consultations with the Chair of the CTG as 
well as with Members, particularly with major textiles-exporting countries.   In his factual report to the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/39 
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CTG on 25 November 2004, the Chair of the CTG ha d informed Members about the progress in his 
consultations with the Chair of the Sub-Committee.  
5. The Chairman
 said that his consultations had resulte d in a proposal on a way forward, which 
was available as an informal document.  He pr esented his proposal to the Sub-Committee on his own 
responsibility.  He hoped that the Members would be  able to accept the language contained in his 
proposal.  The proposal took into account concerns raised, included ideas put forward and sought to 
give a clear mandate to the Secretariat.  He quoted the text as follows and invited Members to 
comment on it: 
"Fully respecting the basic principles and ru les of the WTO and rights and obligations 
of the Members, the WTO Secr etariat will prepare a paper that will look into options 
for LDCs to improve their competitiveness in the textiles and clothing business, 
namely coherence programmes of IMF and World Bank, more flexible rules of 
origin, technical assistance and capacity building, bilateral cooperation programmes 
and means to tackle other cons traints affecting LDCs' exports."   
 
6. The representative of Zambia , on behalf of LDCs, expressed sympathy for the countries 
affected by the Tsunami in the Indian Peninsula, particularly India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and east African countries.  He thanked the Chairman for hi s skilful consultations which narrowed the gap on 
the issue of a study for LDCs on textiles and clothi ng.  He said that the spirit of "give and take" 
should govern international negotiations.  Members would need to appreciate each other's views to 
reach solutions.  He said that the LDCs would welc ome any improvements in the text proposed by the 
Chairman.  It was his understanding that in undert aking the study the WTO Secretariat would have 
sufficient flexibility to cover key issues of importance to LDCs. 
7. He expressed his thanks and appreciation to de legations who had worked hard to narrow the 
differences, namely the delegations of China;  India;   Brazil;  Pakistan and Hong Kong, China.  It was 
the understanding and compromise shown by a number  of developing countries that enabled Members 
to converge on the current situation.  Their partic ular attention to the plight of the LDCs was 
appreciated.  He said that the human race would need  to look at the needs of the weakest in the 
society.  Addressing LDCs' needs would contribute cons iderably to their effective participation in the 
multilateral trading system.  He hoped that the spirit of compromise would continue to govern in all 
areas of WTO negotiations. 
8. The representative of the European Communities
 said that his delegation shared the 
sentiments expressed in the meeting in favour of the Tsunami victims.  He appreciated the efforts of 
the Chairman to move forward the idea of a study in favour of LDCs.  He re iterated the support of his 
delegation for the idea of a study by the WTO Secretariat on textiles and clothing following the termination of the ATC.  He expressed some c oncerns on the proposed language put forward by the 
Chairman.  He flagged three issues.  First, he unde rlined the importance of responding to the needs of 
LDCs in the post-quota circumstances.  In that  context, his delegation saw a broader issue of 
adjustment to the realities of the post-quota world which involved adjustment in other sectors as well.  He added that competitive pressures in the textiles a nd clothing sector were inevitable.  Second, he 
underscored the importance of support by other countries in providing additional or improved 
initiatives improving market access opportunities for LDCs.  He said that his delegation had been working on the rules of origin in the context of its  Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).  There 
were other elements of market access such as tariffs  which had not been mentioned explicitly in the 
proposal.  Third, commenting on the specific draft he  said that the use of th e word "namely" in the 
proposal by the Chairman limited the scope of th e study and his delegation would like a more 
open-ended nature of the study where the list of elem ents would not be restricted.  He proposed to 
include the word " inter alia"  instead of "namely" in the text to broaden its scope.  He reiterated his  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/39 
 Page 3 
 
 
delegation's support for a study and said that more wo rk was required on the terms of reference of the 
study to better address LDCs' concerns. 
9. The Chairman  took note of the points raised by the representative of the 
European Communities.  He recognized that there we re elements that had not been mentioned in his 
proposal.  He said that there was scope for improvement  of the text.  He proposed to go into informal 
mode in order to allow the meeting to finalize the drafting of his proposal.  
10. The discussion thereafter continued in an informal  mode.  After a brief exchange of views and 
consultations to take on board the concer ns expressed by the representative of the 
European Communities, the Chairman made a revi sed proposal with minor drafting changes.  The 
meeting was adjourned to allow delegations to receive feedback on the revised proposal by the 
Chairman.  
11. The Sub-Committee reconvened its session on 20 Janua ry 2005, and reverted back to item B 
of the agenda.  Based on discussions and consultations held, the Chairman  proposed to adopt the 
following language: 
"Fully respecting the basic principles and ru les of the WTO and rights and obligations 
of the Members, the WTO Secr etariat will prepare a paper that will look into options 
for LDCs to improve their competitiveness in the textiles and clothing business, namely coherence programmes of IMF and World Bank, more flexible rules of 
origin, technical assistance and capacity building, bilateral cooperation programmes 
and other means to tackle constr aints affecting LDCs' exports." 
 
12. The representative of India
 said that the Secretariat should develop the paper for LDCs in 
accordance with its terms of referenc e.  He also underscored that the work be done in full recognition 
of the integrity of the mandates of the other bodies of the WTO, including negotiating groups. 
13. The representative of Hong Kong, China  said that her delegation could agree with the 
proposed language by the Chairman and emphasized that the study should adhere to its terms of 
reference.  She also hoped for an early preparation of the study. 
14. The representative of China  thanked the Chairman for his efforts.  She said that her delegation 
could concur to the proposed text and hoped that the Secretariat would prepare the paper in line with 
its terms of reference. 
15. The Chairman  proposed that the meeting take note  of the statements made and adopt his 
proposal. 
16. It was so agreed . 
17. The Chairman  thanked all Members for their construc tive engagement and cooperation.  He 
expressed his confidence that the Secretariat would ma ke every effort to prepare the paper as soon as 
possible.  
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
18. The Chairman  said that the next meeting of the Su b-Committee was tentatively scheduled for 
March.  The exact date would be communicated in due course. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/39 
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19. The representative of Zambia
 expressed his thanks to the delegations of India;  China and 
Hong Kong, China for their statements a nd flexibility shown in favour of LDCs. 
20. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned . 
 
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