RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
4 May 2011  
 
(11-2326) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Fifty-Eighth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 18 MARCH 2011 
 
Chairperson: Ambassador Jean Feyder (Luxembourg) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. FOURTH UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(LDC-IV) TO BE HELD IN 2011 .......................................................................................................1  
- Statement by the Coordinator of the Least-Developed Countries ..............................................2  
- Statement by Turkey............................................................................................................ ........4  
C. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD /LDC/11)....................................................................................................................7  
(I) Market Access for Leas t-Developed Countries...........................................................................7  
- Market Access for Products and Services of Export Interest to Least-Developed 
Countries (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/48/Rev.1)................................................................................7  
- The EU Rules of Origin for the Generalized  System of Preference – Briefing by the 
EU ............................................................................................................................. ................10  
(II) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for 
Least-Developed Countries...................................................................................................... .13 
- Overview of Progress in the Standards and Trade Development Facility 
(STDF) - WT/COMTD/LDC/W/49............................................................................................13  
D. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................16  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Sub-Committee  adopted the draft agenda contained in WTO/AIR/3715. 
B. FOURTH UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDC-IV) TO 
BE HELD IN 2011  
2. The Chairman  said that the LDC-IV Conference would take place in Istanbul, Turkey, in 
May 2011.  He recalled that the intergovernment al negotiations in the UN on the outcome document 
began in January 2011 and that the second Prepar atory Committee (Prep Com) would be held in 
April 2011.  Negotiations on the LDC-IV outco me document had been proceeding under the 
Chairmanship of the Ambassador of Finland in  New York.  He said that he had kept the 
Sub-Committee briefed on developments relati ng to the LDC-IV Conference.  The host 
country - Turkey – had also provided regular brie fings at the Sub-Committee meetings.  The inputs 
submitted by the LDC Group in Geneva for LDC-IV  had been considered at the November 2010 
meeting of the Sub-Committee (JOB/DEV/9).  The WTO Director-General had prepared a report on 
the implementation of the Brusse ls Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2001-2010 WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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  (BPOA), on his own responsibility, which had also b een considered at that meeting and was later 
issued as document WT/COMTD/LDC/17.  He invited the Coordinator of the LDCs in the UN system 
to take the floor. 
- Statement by the Coordinator of the Least-Developed Countries 
3. The representative of Nepal
, on behalf of the LDCs in the UN system, expressed appreciation 
to the Chairman for allowing continued opportunity  to discuss the LDC-IV Conference.  He also 
expressed his appreciation to the Government of Turkey, for hosting the Conference, which would 
outline the framework of international cooperati on for LDCs' development.  The Conference was 
intended to comprehensively assess the implementation of the BPOA, by the LDCs and their development partners, to share best practices and l essons learned, to identify the constraints and 
challenges for the LDCs in the coming decade, as well as the actions required to overcome them.   
4. He said that the LDC-IV Conference would be an  opportunity to reaffirm global commitment 
to address the special needs of LDCs.  It would al so help mobilize international support measures in 
favour of LDCs to formulate rene wed partnership between the LDCs and their development partners.  
He noted that the LDC-IV document had been ne gotiated at the intergovernmental meetings in 
New York.  The first Prep Com meeting was held in January 2011 and the second Prep Com meeting 
was scheduled for April 2011.   
5. He went on to speak about some pre-Conference ev ents that had been held so far to provide 
inputs to the LDC-IV Conference.  Turkey, in co operation with UNIDO, had hosted an event relating 
to science, technology and innovation, in Istanbul from 7 to 8 February 2011.  India, in cooperation 
with UNOHRLLS, had hosted a Ministerial meetin g on South-South cooperation in New Delhi from 
18 to 19 February 2011.  The obj ective of the Conference was to ha rness contributions of South-South 
cooperation for the development of the LDCs.  Du ring that Conference, India had announced three 
major initiatives for the LDCs, including US$5 milli on for follow-up activities relating to the LDC-IV 
Conference.  A credit line of US$500 million had al so been earmarked for programmes relating to 
LDCs over the next five years.  He expressed appreciation to the Government of India for these 
initiatives which would contribute in creating a founda tion for economic development in the LDCs.    
6. He recalled that WIPO had also organized a pre-Conference event in Geneva from 14 to 
15 February 2011, entitled "Intellectual Property for Development".  That meeting had come came up 
with policies and strategies to help LDCs devel op technical skills and kn owledge and establish IP 
infrastructure, including technology and innovation support centres.  A smaller event had been 
organized by ITU in Geneva on 8 March 2011 entit led, "Digital Inclusion for LDCs:  Innovation – 
Growth – Sustainability".  Likewise, the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C., United States, under 
its Africa Growth Initiative, had held a discussion in February 2011, focusing on US global policy on 
LDCs, particularly in Africa.   
7. He also drew the attention of Members to the address made by the UN Secretary General at a 
UN General Assembly debate on investment in LD Cs in March 2011, where he had emphasized the 
importance of partnership for deve lopment.  He noted that the LD C-IV had been negotiated at the 
intergovernmental meetings in New York.  It was high lighted in that statement that a true partnership 
for development meant a combination of investme nt, trade, aid, debt relief and global economic 
governance reforms.  Echoing the appeal of the UN Secretary General, the Chairman urged Members 
to make the most of the Istanbul Conference to res pond to the plight of the world's poorest countries.  
He underlined the need for coming up with a concre te plan of action with realistic targets and 
time-bound deliverables in an inclusive and sustaina ble manner.  He recalled that the LDC category 
was established in 1971.  The number of LDCs had increased from 25 in 1971 to the current figure of 
48.  LDCs comprised 12 per cent of the world's population.  Seventy per cent of that population lived in rural areas exclusively relying on agriculture.  Structural impediments and infrastructure deficits  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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  were hindrances to LDCs development.  With limite d or no productive capacities, the LDCs had been 
mired with conflicts.  The share of LDC exports in world merchandise trade was nearly 1 per cent in 2009.  The LDCs' export basket was narrow.  Market d estinations had also been limited.  In addition, 
rigid rules of origin requirements associated with  some preference schemes did not allow the LDCs to 
fully benefit from those preferences.   
8. He expressed concern over the fact that the LDCs  remained at the bottom of all development 
indicators, particularly with regard to life expect ancy and literacy rate.  Scarce resources competed 
with urgent needs and were not necessarily devot ed to essential services like education and health 
care.  As a result, LDCs were unable to improve their standards of living.  To cap it all, climate change had become a "tragedy of the commons" se verely affecting the productive capacity of the 
LDCs.  He reminded Members of the vulnerability of  countries to climate chan ge as demonstrated by 
the recent devastating tsunami in Japan.  He expressed  sympathy to the Government and to the people 
of Japan for this unprecedented calamity.  Such catastrophes had become a threat to the global 
prosperity and needed to be addressed by the in ternational community with concerted efforts. 
9. He said that in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, solidarity to the 
LDCs was not only a moral responsibility, but an economic and political imperative.  Rapid 
globalization had been characterized by rising ineq uality and volatility in economic conditions.  The 
global economic crisis that began in 2008 – the effe ct of which was being compared with the difficult 
times that the world underwent during the Great Depression of 1929 – once again gave a strong message for greater cooperation among nations.  Ag ainst this background, business as usual was not 
an option for the international community at the LDC-IV Conference.  The challenges faced by the 
LDCs had been overwhelming, and innovative solutions were necessary.  He emphasized the need for 
greater international support measures over and above  those agreed at the LDC-III Conference held in 
Brussels in 2001.  An overarching programme of support could help LDCs overcome structural 
bottlenecks, economic vulnerabilities and emerging socio-economic needs.   
10. He recalled that trade had been an important p illar of LDC Conferences in the past.  One of 
the seven inter-linked broad commitment areas under the BPOA was to enhance the role of trade in 
development.  He reiterated that trade had con tinued to be a powerful e ngine for poverty reduction 
and growth.  Therefore, trade should be an im portant segment of the outcome document of the 
LDC-IV Conference.  In order for trade to play a decisive role in the LDCs, he called upon Members 
to work towards an expeditious and successful conc lusion of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).  
He noted that the merits of the DDA were enormous  for all trading nations.  One of the estimates 
suggested that the conclusion of DDA would increase trade by US$500 billion.  The duty-free and 
quota-free (DFQF) market access for LDC goods would pr ovide an important stimulus to the LDCs.  
He underlined the need for increased opportunities for LDC services and service suppliers, and urged 
Members to expeditiously adopt the services waiver cu rrently being negotiated in the WTO.  He also 
urged Members to facilitate and accel erate the accession of the 12 LDCs that were at various stages of 
their accession in the WTO.  
11. In conclusion, the Chairman encouraged Me mbers to extend all possible cooperation to 
eradicate poverty in the LDCs, to achieve inclus ive and equitable growth as well as sustainable 
development through structural transformation.  He  requested Members to participate in the LDC-IV 
Conference at the highest level.  He said that a positive outcome from the LDC-IV Conference would 
not only have a great bearing on peace, security, stability and development of the LDCs, but could 
also ensure prosperity beyond their borders.  
12. The representative of Bangladesh,
 on behalf of the LDC Group in the WTO, said that the 
LDC Conferences were held once a decade.  The inte rnational community should thus work towards a 
high-value outcome from the LDC-IV Conference.  Th e challenges faced by the LDCs were daunting.  
The LDCs had outlined an agenda with the primary ob jective of lifting at least half of the members of WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 4  
 
  the LDC Group beyond the graduation threshold.  Tr ade could play a key role in attaining this 
objective.   
13. Referring to the BPOA, he said that the BPOA accentuated the importance of enhancing the 
role of trade in development.  The share of LDC exports in world merchandise trade was a mere 
0.4 per cent prior to the adoption of the BPOA, whic h had now grown to around 1 per cent.  However, 
if the contribution of extractive industries had been  excluded, the growth of LDC exports would have 
been marginal.  Therefore, the contribution of ag riculture and manufacturing in LDC exports had been 
little, demonstrating lack of progress in productive capacity building in the LDCs.  He acknowledged 
the fact that DFQF market acces s to LDC products granted by many  developed countries, and also by 
a number of developing countries, had he lped LDCs expand their exports.   
14. He expressed concern over the lack of divers ification of LDCs' production and export base.  
He noted, with regret, that 95 per cent of exports  from most LDCs had been  concentrated on three 
products.  The vulnerabilities of the LDCs were further compounded by the prevalence of trade 
distorting policies.  He wondered how the commodity -dependent LDCs would compete in a world of 
high subsidies.  The extreme volatility of the global market prices had put the LDC cotton growers in 
a difficult situation.  In addition,  ensuring food and energy security in the LDCs had been a serious 
challenge.  He hoped that the LDC-IV Conference would address these problematic concerns of the 
LDCs.   
15. He underlined the importance of effective ma rket access for LDC goods and services.  He 
equally emphasized the need for urgent delivery of  Aid for Trade to the LDCs.  In this regard, 
Members should earmark a substantive portion of thei r Aid for Trade towards trade-related physical 
infrastructure development in the LDCs.  He argued that investment in infrastructure would in turn 
facilitate investment in the productive sector.  He  emphasized the need for setting up measurable 
targets at the LDC-IV Conference, accompanied by  a comprehensive monitoring mechanism so as to 
address any lacunae in the implementation of th e outcome of the LDC-IV Conference.  That 
monitoring mechanism could also ensure that the LDCs would not have to wait for another 
Conference a decade later to address their urgent need s.  In conclusion, he urged Members to reflect 
upon the deliverables of the LDC-IV Conference, in pa rticular what WTO could concretely deliver for 
the LDCs.  He also expressed some disappointment with the lack of progress in the negotiations in New York.  He stressed that the LDC-IV Conferen ce would chart a new framework of cooperation for 
the LDCs, building on the commitments containe d in the BPOA, for accelerated growth and 
development in the LDCs. 
- Statement by Turkey 
16. The representative of Turkey
 said that his Ambassador was away in New York joining the 
consultations regarding the outcome of the LDC-IV Conference.  As a result, he was unable to be 
present at the Sub-Committee meeting.  He said that  his delegation had been taking active part in the 
Prep Com meetings in New York.  He thanked th e Ambassadors of Bangladesh and Nepal for their 
statements, and underlined the importance of thei r active engagement and close cooperation with all 
partners for a successful outcome of the Istanbul C onference.  He then went on to outline different 
aspects of the Conference, including some ad ministrative and logistical arrangements. 
17. He said that Turkey would have the rare priv ilege of hosting the LDC Conference, which for 
the first time would take place in a developing country since the convening of the first such 
Conference in Paris in 1981.  The President of th e Republic of Turkey, H.E. Abdullah Gül, had sent 
letters of invitation to Heads of State and Gove rnment in mid-February 2011.  The UN Secretary 
General, H.E. Ban Ki-Moon, had also sent invitations  to all UN member states and other stakeholders 
to attend the Conference.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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  18. He informed Members that Turkey had hosted a number of high-level events related to LDCs 
in the recent years, which had pr ovided his authorities an invaluab le experience to organize a big 
Conference like LDC-IV.  Those events had in cluded:  (i) a Ministerial Conference on making 
globalization work for the LDCs (9-10 July 2007, Istanbul);  (ii) a High-level Workshop for African 
LDCs (4-5 March 2008, Izmir);  and (iii) a High-leve l Workshop for the Asian, Caribbean and Pacific 
LDCs on new development partnership (4-5 December 2008, Ankara).   
19. He went on to say that the once-a-decade LD C Conference would have the opportunity to 
address major challenges faced by the LDCs, including extreme poverty, lack of infrastructure, weak 
productive capacity, food and energy security, climat e change as well as ch allenges emanating from 
the global economic and financial cr isis.  The Conference would kick off with an inaugural ceremony.  
Other components of the Conference would include the plenary, meetings of the Committee of the 
Whole, interactive thematic round tables at minister ial, senior officials' level for policy dialogue on 
key priority issues, special events on different t opics, as well as parallel tracks for parliamentarians, 
civil society and the private sector.  Around 10,000 participants were expected to attend the 
Conference including high-level government delega tions, parliamentarians, heads of UN agencies and 
other international institutions, private sector and civil society representatives and academics.   
20. Preparations for the LDC-IV Conference we re ongoing at various levels.  Thirteen 
pre-Conference events had taken place so far, with another three to be organized.  He expressed appreciation to the Government of India fo r organizing, in cooperation with UNOHRLLS, a 
Ministerial meeting on South-South cooperation from 18 to 19 February 2011 in New Delhi.  
TUBITAK, in cooperation with UNIDO, had also organized an event on science, technology and 
innovation in Istanbul from 7 to 8 February 2011.  The inputs from these events would feed into the 
outcome of the Istanbul Conference.   
21. He continued by saying that there would be four components to the Conference - 
intergovernmental track, private sector track, civil society track and finally, the parliament track 
which would be the novelty of this Conference.   The negotiations on the outcome document - the 
Istanbul Programme of Action - were being held un der the intergovernmental track.  The first Prep 
Com meeting was held in New York from 10 to 14 January 2011.  The Ambassador of Finland in 
New York was the Chairman of the Prep Com, while Ethiopia and Turkey had been acting as 
Co-chairs.  Contributions were being made by delegations to develop th e Istanbul Programme of 
Action;  he noted that the current draft had been a lengthy one with a lot of unresolved issues.  He 
underscored the need for an enhanced dialogue to  finalize the document as soon as possible.  His 
delegation would like to see a Programme of Acti on that would be forward-looking, action-oriented, 
implementable and addressing the specific challenges of LDCs.  He believed th at a new generation of 
international support mechanisms was needed, while  enhancing existing suppor t measures, to address 
the challenges faced by the LDCs.   
22. Speaking about the parliamentary track - the first of its kind – he said that it would be 
organized in cooperation with the Inter-Parliament ary Union (IPU).  A parliamentarian forum would 
take place on 8 May 2011.  The Turkish Grand Na tional Assembly had established a Working Group 
to organize the meeting of the parliamentarians and an IPU delegation had paid a visit to Turkey in 
February 2011 for consultations w ith relevant Turkish authorities.  He emphasized the importance of 
involving parliamentarians as they could help fac ilitate the implementation of the outcome of the 
Conference.    
23. 
The private sector track would also be an impor tant part of the Conference.  The presence of 
representatives of private sectors around the world and their interactions with the government representatives from various countries could make useful contributions to the outcome of the 
Conference.  He also drew the attention of Member s to the civil society track from 7 to 13 May 2011.  
Moreover, an intellectuals/academicians Forum woul d be held from 8 to 9 May 2011.  He believed WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 6  
 
  that civil society could play an important role  in holding the LDC governments and the development 
partners accountable for their commitments.   
24. He concluded his presentation by making a few remarks on administrative and logistic issues 
relating to the LDC-IV Conference.  The Government  of Turkey would cover the travel, full boarding 
and lodging expenses of the Head of State/Govern ment including four other members from each LDC 
delegation.  In addition, expenses for one re presentative from the national Parliament, two 
representatives each from private sector and civil society and one representative from the media 
would be borne by the Turkish Government.  He informed Members that the venue for the 
intergovernmental meetings would be the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Centre.  The 
Istanbul Congress Centre would host the civil societ y and private sector fora, while the Istanbul 
Hilton Convention Centre would host the media cen tre; both these centres were located near to the 
Lutfi Kirdar Convention Centre.  Adequate acco mmodation arrangements would be made at various 
rates for the participants.  Shuttle services to the Conference venue would be provided from the 
hotels.  Public transport network would be free for a ll participants of the Conference.  Finally, he said 
that obtaining Turkish visas for the Conference pa rticipants would not be difficult, since the 
Government of Turkey did not have visa restrictions for most countries.   
25. The representative of the European Union
 reiterated the full commitment of the EU to ensure 
the success of the LDC-IV Conference.  Her dele gation was also committed to work towards a 
positive and ambitious outcome based on a global partnership for development, with mutual 
responsibilities and obligations of a ll partners.  She said that the EU had been at the forefront of 
international community's efforts to support the LDCs and had been successful in fulfilling its 
commitments.  Referring to the remark made by the representative of Bangladesh as to what 
deliverables the international community could demo nstrate at the Istanbul Conference, she drew the 
attention of Members to the EU's exemplary DFQF market access scheme.  Her delegation also took pride in announcing that rules of origin for LDCs  had been significantly relaxed from 1 January 2011, 
both compared to previous rules of origin as we ll as compared to other Generalized System of 
Preferences (GSP) beneficiaries.  She called upon other donors and development partners to match the 
commitments and ambition undertaken by the EU in favour of LDCs.   
26. She went on to say that the outcome of the LDC-IV Conference should focus on areas and 
measures that could add value to LDCs and reflect  the lessons learnt from the implementation of the 
BPOA, while maintaining coherence with the M illennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework 
that had emerged from last year's high-level plenary meeting on MDGs.  She hoped that the 
momentum created around the LDC-IV Conference would result in a significant increase in the 
number of countries graduating from LDC status in the ne xt decade.  In this regard, she underlined the 
need to work on a system of incentives that would be more conducive to gra duation.  Her delegation 
had called upon all partners to agree to the estab lishment of a more systematic mechanism which 
would grant time-sensitive concessions and support to recently graduated LDCs, and make graduation 
smoother.  The systematic extension of the trans ition phase privileges accorded by the EU to recently 
graduated LDCs could be explored by the intern ational community to help countries in their 
graduation from LDC status. 
27. The representative of the United States
 expressed appreciation for the statements by Nepal, 
Bangladesh and Turkey, and for the information they had provided on the LDC-IV Conference.  He recognized the importance of the LDC-IV Confer ence in highlighting the work accomplished since 
2001 by the UN, its members, and other international organizations in enhancing the role of trade in 
development for LDCs and in identifying the additi onal work that was needed.  The US was actively 
engaged in the negotiations that were ongoing at the UN in New York on an outcome document.  He 
looked forward to working with Nepal and other LDCs in the coming months.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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  28. He noted that some issues in the zero draft of the outcome document were under the mandate 
of the WTO.  He stressed that issues under activ e negotiations within the WTO, or under the purview 
of WTO bodies, should stay within the WTO.  He underlined the importance of exercising caution to ensure that there were no shadow negotiations of WTO issues in another forum.  Nor should there be 
the expansion of another forum's mandate into issues already addressed by the WTO. 
29. The Chairman
 invited Members to pay close attention to the ongoing negotiations in 
New York.  He believed that the competence of Geneva, in particular on trade and development 
issues, could prove to be useful to the negotiatio ns in New York.  He urged Members to do their 
utmost to ensure that the Istanbul Conference deliv ered tangible results for the LDCs, coupled with a 
credible and effective follow-up mechanism.  He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the 
statements made. 
30. It was so agreed . 
C. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (WT/COMTD /LDC/11) 
(I) Market Access for Least-Developed Countries 
- Market Access for Products and Services of Expor t Interest to Least-Developed Countries 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/48/Rev.1) 
31. The Chairman  recalled that a substantive discussion had taken place at the last meeting of the 
Sub-Committee on the Note entitled "Market Access fo r Products and Services of Export Interest to 
LDCs".  The Note highlighted the main trends in  LDC exports.  A special focus was given to the 
evolution of trade balances experienced by differe nt groups of LDCs.  At the last meeting of the 
Sub-Committee, a number of Members had made substantive and technical comments on the Note 
and had requested that those comments be taken into account in the revised version of it.  
Accordingly, the Secretariat had issued a re vision of the Note contained in document 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/48/Rev.1.  He invited the Secret ariat to make a few remarks on the document.   
32. The representative of the Secretariat  said that the revised version of the Note had taken on 
board the comments and suggestions made by Members at the previous meeting of the 
Sub-Committee.  It had also included some recent statistics on LDC trade.  Information on tariff 
escalation faced by LDCs in developing country mark ets had been included in the revised version, 
although data was based on MFN tari ffs.  He recalled the request made by Members to include data 
on preferential trade between developing countries a nd LDCs.  In this regard, work was ongoing, in 
cooperation with the ITC and UNCTAD.  He hoped that in the next version of the Note, the 
Secretariat would be able to offer better data on pr eferential trade of developing countries with their 
LDC trading partners.   
33. He highlighted some trends in international tr ade in 2010, in particular those of the last 
quarter of 2010.  He noted that developing coun tries, in general, had recovered more rapidly 
compared to developed countries from the 2008-2009 crisis.  Since the last quarter of 2010, exports of developed countries had also shown robust growth – though they had not as yet reached the pre-crisis 
level.  He pointed out that the value change in exports was largely due to changes in product prices, 
especially those of commodities.  The fuel pri ces had started to increase in the middle of 2009, 
following a sharp drop during the crisis; it, however, did not exhibit a precise trend during 2010.  As 
volume did not increase, the value of fuel exports ha d remained flat in 2010.  Food prices too had 
increased as of the second semester of 2010, and since then the food prices had reached the pre-crisis 
level.  Similarly, the price of agricultural raw materials recovered from its downfall witnessed during 
the crisis.  Cotton prices, in particular, had reached a historical high. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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34. With regard to the recent trends in LDC trade, he reminded Members of the continued 
limitations faced by the Secretariat in obtaining data from national sources.  Therefore, the Secretariat had had to rely on mirror statistics to examine the e volution of LDC exports in the recent years.  He 
noted that the LDC exports had rebounded quickly from the crisis, especially as of the middle of 
2009, but the rate of growth of LDC exports had somewhat slowed down in 2010.  This was largely 
due to stagnant oil and mineral exports, prices of wh ich had remained generally static during most of 
2010.  The LDC exports of agricultural goods had star ted to register good rate of growth in 2010.  
However, he pointed out that had there been no cr isis, the agricultural exports of LDCs would have 
done much better.  The manufacturing exports from LD Cs, particularly textile and clothing exports 
had experienced continued growth  in 2009 and 2010 – attaining the pre-crisis trend level.  He 
concluded by saying that, overall, the trends of  LDC exports over 2009-2010 period were almost at 
par with the trends in world trade.  
35. The representative of the United States
 said that the revised Note by the Secretariat provided 
valuable insights on the export performance of the LDCs.  He appreciated the efforts undertaken by 
the Secretariat in incorporating comments made by Members in the revision.  He noted that the 
document, similar to the preceding ones, had highl ighted the importance of South-South trade for 
LDCs, particularly the role played by the emerging market countries as being major LDC export destinations and by according preferences to the LDCs and thus providing an increasing source of dynamism .  Chart 6 of the Note concerning top mark ets of LDC exports of goods showed the 
importance of emerging market countries in LDC exports.  
36. He believed that the document provided important details on trends in South-South trade that 
could assist LDCs in assessing the benefits of am bitious trade liberalization in the advanced 
developing economies under the Doha Round of negotia tions.  He, however, regretted the fact that 
much of the data contained in the document conti nued to focus on developed country trade statistics, 
relying heavily on mirror statistics.  He welc omed the Secretariat's acknowledgement of the 
limitations of using mirror data for the statisti cal coverage of LDCs.  He hoped that these data 
constraints would be rectified in a future version of the Secretariat's report.  He understood from the 
discussions in paragraph 48 that the coverage and qu ality of the statistical information for preferential 
schemes in operation in developing countries was s till limited.  He hoped that the new transparency 
mechanism for preferential trade agreements would help rectify this situation.   
37. He welcomed the discussion in the document concerning the total or near total duty-free 
status that developed countries accorded to the LDCs as well as the discussion in paragraph 55 on the 
diminishing effect of tariff escalation since the la unch of the Doha Round of negotiations, taking into 
account the slight upward trend since 2004 due to increasing weight of clothing facing relatively 
higher tariffs in LDCs' total exports .  He also welcomed the findings of the document that on the basis 
of MFN treatment tariff escalation between unpro cessed and processed goo ds in developed and 
developing countries was in the similar range.  He  concluded by saying that the annual studies 
prepared by the Secretariat had been useful.  His de legation looked forward to the next version of the 
Note. 
38. The representative of Bangladesh
, on behalf of the LDC Group in the WTO, took note of the 
revised Note.  He recalled that the LDC Group had made substantive comments on the previous 
version, and therefore his delegation would not go  into the details on the present version, which 
mainly contained some technical corrections.  He su ggested that the factual errors in the Secretariat 
documents could be rectified by a corrigendum.  He  believed that such reports were issued at the 
responsibility of the Secretariat, and without pr ejudice to Members' rights and obligations.  
39. He hoped that LDC trade and market access cond itions would continue to be analysed to 
provide Members with up to date knowledge on th e trade situation of LDCs.  That would help  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
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  Members to focus on measures need ed to enhance opportunities for LDC exports.  He regretted the 
fact that some preference schemes excluded products  of export interest to the LDCs.  Full DFQF 
market access for all LDC products and for all LDCs  had not been achieved, as was intended by the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Decision in 2005.  He noted that LDC exports had started to recover from the 
recent economic crisis, but were still below the level th at the LDCs had attained a couple of years ago.  
His delegation, therefore, would be interested  to see how the LDC trade had evolved after the 
economic crisis.  He looked forward to r eceiving the 2011 version of the document. 
40. The representative of the European Union  thanked the Secretariat for the revision of the Note 
and requested the Secretariat to circulate the presenta tion made at the meeting to Members.  She noted 
that DFQF market access to LD Cs was one of the topics under discussion by the G-20 members, 
especially in relation to the follow-up on the multi- year action plan for development agreed by them 
in Seoul last year.  The G-20 members, she quot ed: "agreed to make progress towards duty-free and 
quota-free (DFQF) market access for the least-dev eloped country (LDC) products in line with 
Hong Kong commitments without prejudice to othe r negotiations, including as regards preferential 
rules of origin.  They committed to explore, in collaboration with the relevant international 
organizations, the scope for fu rther improvement and cooperatio n among G-20 members leading to 
the implementation of this commitment".  The EU  had been part of the G-20 discussion on DFQF 
market access for LDCs, and she hoped that these discussions would result in a further improvement 
of the delivery on this front.  The EU was committe d to the G-20 statement.  The recent adoption of 
the revised GSP rules of origin was also  a response to the call from the G-20.  
41. She noted from the Secretariat document that S outh-South trade accounted for 50 per cent of 
LDC exports in 2009.  She thanked the Secretariat for its efforts to improve the availability of data on 
preferential market access to the LDCs by deve loping countries, she looked forward to a further 
elaboration of this section with inputs from devel oping country partners of LDCs.  She requested the 
delegation of Brazil to provide updated inform ation on its DFQF scheme for LDCs which was 
supposed to cover 80 per cent of all tariff lines by th e middle of 2010.  Similarly, she requested some 
update from China as to how DFQF treatment for LDCs  in Africa had been progressing, notably with 
the stated objective of the expansion of DFQF tr eatment to 95 per cent of tariff lines.  She also 
expressed an interest in receiving some informati on from the members of the Generalized System of 
Trade Preferences (GSTP), especially as to how the conclusion of the Third Round of GSTP negotiations, adopted in December 2010, would offer additional market access to the LDCs 
participating in this initiative.  Finally, she sai d that the preferential market access offered by 
development partners was not intended to comp ensate for the high trade transaction costs in the 
LDCs.  Therefore, she suggested that the section d ealing with this issue in the Note be suitably 
modified. 
42. The representative of China
 thanked the Secretariat for providing Members with an update of 
the trade performance of LDCs in 2010.  He furt her expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for 
incorporating his delegation's comments and sugges tions in the revised version.  However, his 
delegation still had some concern with the accuracy of the information of China's provision of DFQF 
treatment to the LDCs.  In this regard, he said th at he would provide a written submission to the 
Secretariat in due course.   
43. The representative of the Secretariat  said that the wording of paragraph 49 had been changed 
in the revised version of the Note so that prefer ence programmes were not meant to "compensate" for 
the higher logistic and transaction costs in the LDCs.  He clarified that the intention of that paragraph 
was to highlight the fact that high logistic and transaction costs were an impeding factor for LDC 
exports, and that often those could undermine the co mpetitiveness margin associ ated with preferential 
treatment that the LDCs received for their exports.  He reiterated that the Secretariat would continue 
to take into account Members' comments in the future version of the Note. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 10  
 
  44. The Chairman
 thanked all Members for their contributions.  The document that the Secretariat 
had been preparing each year to facilitate the market access review of LDCs, represented a key 
contribution from the Sub-Committee.  He reiterated that the Sub-Committee would continue to attach 
high priority to issues pertaining to market access for LDCs.  He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the document contained in WT/COMTD /LDC/W/48/Rev.1, as well as of the statements 
made. 
45. It was so agreed
.  
- The EU Rules of Origin for the Generalized  System of Preference – Briefing by the EU 
46. The Chairman  said that the EU had completed its work  on the reform of its preferential rules 
of origin.  As of 1 January 2011, the EU had in troduced its revised rules of origin for products 
imported under the GSP.  Rules for the LDCs had b een specially relaxed and simplified.  He invited 
the representative of the EU to take the floor. 
47. The representative from the European Union  (Directorate-General for Customs and Taxation 
of the European Commission in Brussels) made a pre sentation on the EU Rules of Origin for the GSP.  
She said that the new EU Rules of Origin for GSP had been applicable from 1 January 2011, she gave 
an explanation on the three inter-related pillars of  the reform undertaken by the EU.  The basic 
guidelines for the reform were outlined in 2005.  Th e first pillar was related to appropriate rules for 
determining the acquisition of origin.  Th e second pillar addressed improved and efficient 
management and control of procedures, including certification procedures and the third pillar focused 
on an improved framework for administrative cooperati on.  Orientation for the reform was laid down 
in the European Commission's communication of 16 March 2005, entitled "the rules of origin in 
preferential trade arrangements: orientations for the fu ture".  The three orientations drawn out at that 
time included simplification, relaxation and devel opment-friendliness.  She said that since 2005, it 
had taken the EU some time to finalize the new rules of origin, as it included comments from beneficiary countries and had to be agreed upon internally by all EU member States.   
48. The new regulation revising rules of origin for products imported under the GSP was adopted 
by the EU on 18 November 2010 (Commission Regulation No. 1063/2010).  She pointed out that the 
implementation of the reforms made in the EU rules of origin would take place in two stages.  The first stage had already started, with the new rul es being applicable since 1 January 2011.  Some 
improvements in certification procedures would be introduced in the second stage.  For example, a 
process of self-certification of origin by register ed exporters would be applicable from 2017, with a 
transitional period allowing beneficiary countries to ask for the postponement of the application of the 
system until 1 January 2020, if necessary. 
49. She gave examples of improvements made in  general provisions by illustrating the 
simplification and relaxation made in vessel cond itions for fishery products.  She said that vessel 
conditions which allowed fishery pr oducts to be considered as or iginating were simplified as the 
condition of nationality of the master and officers w as deleted, and so was done with the condition on 
the nationality of the crew.  Earlier, in order to be eligible for preferences, fish caught by a vessel 
would only be considered as originating from a part icular beneficiary country, if 75 per cent of crew 
members of that vessel consisted of that benefi ciary country.  The second example given related to 
cumulation, where a number of relaxations had been made.  She said that the EU rules of origin had 
been providing several cumulation possibilities.  In  the past, it had three cumulation groups, namely: 
ASEAN, SAARC and Central American countries.  U nder the new rules of origin, in addition to the 
previous possibilities, cumulation between count ries of ASEAN and SAARC regions had been 
introduced.  MERCOSUR had also been added to th e list of regional cumulation groups.  Beneficiary 
countries in all four regional cumulation groups  would have the opportunity to cumulate amongst 
each other.  A new type of cumulation between  GSP beneficiary countries and EU Free-trade  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Agreement (FTA) partner countries had been introduced  under certain conditions.  It would mean that 
a beneficiary country including an LDC might s ource materials from another country which had a 
FTA agreement with the EU.  Until recently, some minimal operation needed to take place in the 
country of manufacture and the value of materials was taken into account in order to control origin if 
several countries participated in the manufacture.   Under the new rules of origin, value added 
condition had been abolished for cumulation purpo ses.  She pointed out that beneficiary countries 
might apply for temporary derogations from standard rules of origin in case of natural catastrophes as well as in cases of economic difficulties.  On the ot her hand, the EU would also be able to grant 
temporary derogations on its own initiative.   
50. She went on to say that conditions for transpor tation had been relaxed and simplified and that 
direct transport rules had been replaced by a "non- manipulation" clause. The products declared for 
release for free circulation in the EU should be  the same products as that exported from the 
beneficiary country in which they were considered to  originate.  Those products should not have been 
altered, transformed in any way or subjected to ope rations other than operations to preserve them in 
good condition, prior to being declared for release fo r free circulation.  If needed, customs authorities 
might request the declarant to pr ovide evidence of compliance.  Th e new rules of origin had done 
away with the requirement that if goods crosse d territories of countries other than the exporting 
country, then a "non-manipulation" certificate was needed from the authorities of the country of 
transhipment.   
51. The new rules of origin contained enhanced pr ovisions on administrative cooperation.  In this 
context, she underlined the importance of strengtheni ng developing countries' capacities, particularly 
for verification of proof of origin.  At the request of the importing country's competent authorities, 
beneficiary countries might need to carry out verifica tion of proof – the so-called "a posteriori check".  
This would gain more importance when the self-certif ication system would be introduced in 2017.  
The EU would also be more engaged in the periodi c monitoring of the correctness of application of 
GSP rules of origin. 
52. She further elaborated on the new certification system that would be applicable from 2017.  
Exporters would make out statements on origin by themselves (self-certificati on) for consignments of 
any value, provided they were registered with the competent authorities of their countries.  In case of 
any consignment of one or more packages, containi ng originating products e xported by any exporter, 
where the total value of the originating products c onsigned did not exceed €6,000, registration for that 
exporter would not be required with competent author ities of its country.  She said that the system of 
registration was still being developed by the EU and that more details would be communicated in due 
course.  
53. She went on to explain the registration of expor ters in the EU GSP beneficiary countries that 
would be applicable from 1 January 2017.  In orde r for exporters to be able to certify the origin 
themselves, they would need to lodge an applicati on with the competent authorities in their countries.  
The beneficiary countries would then need to  communicate to the European Commission the 
designated authorities empowered to register exporters  in their countries.  These competent authorities 
would check the correctness of the application, follo wing which they would register an applicant in 
their system.  Upon receiving the information on the registration of the exporter, the European Commission would attribute a number to the regi stered exporter and would maintain a central 
database of the registered exporters.  Non-confidenti al data related to the exporter would be published 
on the internet.  She stressed that registration of  exporters would facilitate targeted post-export 
controls, and the publication of information about exporters online would facilitate transparency and 
increase flows of information to interested parties.   Online release of information would take place 
only with a prior informed written consent of an e xporter.  The online information would also allow 
operators to check that their supp lier was a registered exporter in th e beneficiary country concerned, 
before declaring goods for release for free circulat ion.  She added that the EU operators making WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 12  
 
  exports for the purpose of bilateral cumulation of origin should be registered with the competent 
authorities in the member States.   
54. She pointed out that the registration would be a one-off act.  Once an exporter had been 
registered that exporter would be allowed to make out proofs of origin to be called as "statements on 
origin".  Such statements on origin would n eed to be made out on any commercial documents 
showing the name and full address of the exporter a nd the consignee, as well as a description of the 
goods and the date of issue.  Exporters would be en titled to produce such statements in any one of the 
three languages – English, French and Spanish.  Sh e believed that this system of registration and 
self-certification would significantly reduce administra tive costs currently incurr ed by the operators in 
beneficiary countries.   
55. She went on to outline the improvements made in product specific rules.  Under the revised 
GSP, the EU had continued to maintain product sp ecific rules which, according to the EU, reflected 
the best possible way to define rul es of origin for different sectors.  She pointed out that rules best 
suitable for the industrial sector might not be the best  option for the agriculture sector.  That was why 
the needs of different sectors had been duly reflected  upon by the EU and which had led to the revised 
rules of origin being a combination of either sp ecific processing operations or change of tariff 
classification, or permissible threshold of conten t of non-originating (imported) material.   
56. She said that while in general product sp ecific rules had been relaxed for all GSP 
beneficiaries, specific treatment had been granted to the LDCs.  In fact, the EU for the first time, had 
introduced a differentiation to the benefit of LDCs at the level of the applicable GSP rules of origin.  
This represented a far-reaching policy decision for th e EU.  Until now, only the tariff preference to the 
LDCs was more favourable than other GSP bene ficiary countries.  Improvements in the product 
specific rules for the LDCs had targeted products of  major export interest to LDCs, such as textiles, 
clothing, footwear, and processed agricultural and fi shery products.  Specific relaxed rules for LDCs 
for processed agricultural products included, inter alia , chapters 29, 33, 35 and 38 under the 
Harmonized System.  The rules for textiles and cl othing items (i.e. chapters 61 and 62 under the 
Harmonized System) had foreseen single transformation instead of double transformation that had 
been applicable until recently.  Single transforma tion implied that non-originating fabric might be 
used in the manufacture of articles of apparel or re ady-made garments instead of the so-called system 
of double transformation (i.e. manufacture from yarn).   She noted that for some knitted items, where 
certain knitting operations needed to be carried out in the exporting country, the single transformation 
rule would not be applicable.  She believed that the recognition of the single-step transformation for 
textiles should diminish the need to apply for deroga tions from rules of origin for certain LDCs that 
had been exporters of textile products.  She further added that specific relaxation had also been made 
for the LDCs on industrial products, i.e. chapters 25 to 99 under the Harmonized system (except the chapters relating to processed agricultural products).   Relaxation for these chapters took the form of 
the possibility to integrate a higher threshold of  70 per cent of foreign content (non-originating 
material) in the manufacture of the final product.  She concluded by saying that general information 
on GSP rules of origin could be seen at the EU website ("http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_custo ms/customs/customs_duties/rules _origin/preferential/article_781_
en.htm ").  There was also a specific GSP rules of origin users guide available on line 
("http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_custo ms/customs/customs_duties/rules _origin/preferential/article_839_
en.htm ").  She also encouraged delegations to contac t the European Commission in case they had any 
questions regarding the new rules of origin (European Commission, DG Taxation and Customs 
Union, Unit "Rules of Origin", Tel:  +32 (0)2 29  84305, e-mail:  Taxud-unit-b3@ec.europa.eu.).  
57. The representative of Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDC Group in the WTO, thanked the 
representative of the EU for her presentation on the revised GSP rules of origin, which had become operational as of 1 January 2011.  He expressed ap preciation to the EU for their understanding of 
LDC predicaments and for coming out with a simplifie d rules of origin for the LDCs.  While the LDC  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Group was in the process of examining the details of the new rules, he considered the adoption of the 
revised origin rules as a positive step.  He hoped that  the new rules would help LDCs better utilize the 
EU GSP scheme for the LDCs, and th ereby facilitate LDC exports.   
58. He took the opportunity to remind Members that  stringent and complicated preferential rules 
of origin could impede LDC exports.  He called upon Members to simplify their rules of origin 
requirement for LDC exports, and to  make them transparent and predictable.  He then posed two 
questions to the EU representative.  First, he wi shed to know whether the exporters could register 
online and, if so, whether there was any cost invo lved with it.  Second, he wondered whether under 
the self-certification system that would be introduced  in 2017, the threshold for small consignments 
for which the exporters would not require regist ration with the competent authorities in the 
beneficiary countries could be increased by the EU.   
59. The representative of the European Union  said that the legal texts containing the new rules of 
origin envisaged the possibility of a statement on or igin being transmitted electronically.  It had been 
the desire of the EU to abandon the practice of pa per certification.  In fact, paper-based procedures, 
including authentication of certificates, had cau sed difficulties to operators including importing 
administrations.  The technical details concerni ng the registered exporter system were being 
elaborated and would be communicated to the benefi ciary countries in due course.  She added that 
views from the beneficiaries would also be sought  on the practical functioning of the registered 
exporter system.   
60. She believed that the new system would not bring additional costs for administration of 
beneficiary countries.  For example, there could be a possibility to register exporters through 
web-based applications.  She reiterated that the EU  had been working so as to ensure that the new 
system did not result in increased costs for the bene ficiaries.  With regard to the remark from the 
representative of Bangladesh on the threshold for sma ll consignments, she explained that the current 
threshold of €6,000 had existed before the introducti on of the new rules of origin and would continue 
to exist in all preferential rules of origin of th e EU, including under bilateral agreements.  The system 
was catered to the small – and medium–sized operators where these operators themselves were 
entitled to make declarations on the invoices without any registration with their competent authorities, 
if the value of the consignmen t was less than €6,000.   
61. The Chairman  congratulated the EU for its efforts to bring the revised rules of origin into 
fruition.  He particularly thanked the representativ e of the EU, who had travelled from Brussels, to 
brief the Sub-Committee.  He hoped that the enhanced  simplification and relaxation, especially for the 
LDCs, would significantly contribute to expanding e xports from LDCs to the EU.  He proposed that 
the Sub-Committee take note of the presentation made by the EU as well as of the statements made. 
62. It was so agreed .   
(II) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and C apacity-Building Initiatives for Least-Developed 
Countries 
- Overview of Progress in the Stand ards and Trade Development Facility 
(STDF) - WT/COMTD/LDC/W/49 
63. The Chairman  recalled that the Work Programme fo r the LDCs mandated the Sub-Committee 
to monitor capacity-building initiatives taken in fa vour of LDCs to promote information flows and 
coordination.  The STDF was a capacity-building initiative to help develo ping countries enhance 
capacity to comply with international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.  The 
Sub-Committee had been considering this item for the past few years.  In order to facilitate discussion 
on this item, the Secretariat had prepar ed a brief note contained in document WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 14  
 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/49.  He invited the representa tive of the STDF Secretariat to introduce its 
document. 
64. The representative of the STDF Secretariat
 gave an overview on the latest STDF activities 
and provided some practical information on work relating to the Facility.  He said that the STDF Annual Report (2010) as well as the planned activ ities for 2011 were available on the STDF website 
(http://www.standardsfacility.org
).  He recapitulated the mandate of the STDF, which was two-fold: 
first, the Facility helped developing countries and LD Cs, in particular, to improve their capacity to 
implement SPS standards; and second, to contribute to the effectiveness and synergies in the provision 
and the delivery of SPS-related t echnical cooperation.  In doing so, the STDF had been making an 
effort to contribute to food security and improved food safety, animal and plant health situation in 
developing countries and thereby attaining the overri ding objective of poverty reduction.  Being the 
reference point for SPS coordination and good practice had been the hallmark of the STDF 
Secretariat.  The Facility continued to benefit fro m the expertise and skills of STDF partners, donors, 
observers, and beneficiaries.  The work of th e STDF had linkages with:  the WTO Committee on SPS 
measures, since the SPS Agreement was at the heart of the STDF; the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).  He not ed that the STDF continued to devote at least 
40 per cent of its resources to LDCs and the Other Low-Income Countries (OLICs). 
65. He went on to explain the functioning of the STDF Secretariat.  The STDF Policy Committee 
met once a year, where the high-level officials from STDF partners, donors and developing countries decided on policy issues.  The STDF Working Group me t three times a year – in which the LDCs had 
a representative; the current representative being Mr . Saronga (Tanzania).  The STDF Secretariat was 
housed in the WTO Secretariat (Agriculture a nd Commodities Division).  The Trust Fund of the 
STDF was also managed by the WTO.  The Trust Fu nd had an annual target of US$5 million per year, 
which indicated the smallness of the Facility.  He no ted that the STDF Secretariat had been carrying 
out a lot of work within the targeted amount.  
66. He went on to explain the four key areas of the STDF's work, namely:  (i) action-oriented 
research, development of SPS guidance materials and tools; (ii) information exchange and awareness 
raising; (iii) project development; and (iv) project  grants.  First, he elaborated on the tools and 
information resources being developed by the STDF Secr etariat.  He said that thematic events were 
being regularly organized on topics of interest to the wider SPS capacity-building community.  A regional Action Plan to control fruit fly in West A frica had been developed, in cooperation with the 
World Bank and ECOWAS.  The STDF Secretariat had st arted to participate in training workshops, in 
particular organized by the EIF Secretariat, w ith a view to improving  the overall quality and 
ownership of SPS-related projects, including the deve lopment of guidelines for project development.  
In this regard, a pilot training exercise had taken pl ace in Nepal.  As a follow-up to that exercise, two 
projects had been initiated, one on ginger exports  and the other one on diary production where Nepal 
could develop a potential in regional trade.  The STDF had continued its work on the use of economic 
analysis to inform SPS decision making and res ource allocation.  A framework had recently been 
developed to apply the "Multi Criteria Decision Anal ysis" (MCDA) approach in the SPS context.  
This framework would be pilot tested in 2011 in three countries in Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and 
Zambia).    
67. The second stream of SPS activities consisted of exchanging information with the STDF 
Working Group, and the SPS Policy Committee, as well as participating in external meetings.  Other 
activities included the development of a film about the mission and functions of the Facility, and the 
improvement of the STDF website with enhanced c ontent and functionality.  Briefings, newsletters 
and other types of publications were also availa ble on the website.  Conclusions and recommendations 
of some of the STDF work were also being summa rized to make them palatable to all readers.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
 Page 15 
 
 
  68. The third stream of activities related to project development.  Project preparation grants 
(PPGs) were available up to US$30,000.  The PPGs were a key mechanism for future STDF 
programme development.  Through project developm ent, the STDF sought to mobilize resources to 
fund the implementation of the results derived fro m the PPGs.  He gave a few examples of PPGs 
benefiting the LDCs.  A PPG was implemented by the International Cocoa Organization concerning 
cocoa production, in line with international standa rds on pesticide residues which resulted in a project 
being partly funded by the STDF.  A needs assessment  and strategy for the development of Liberia's 
SPS system was being carried, and the possibility of th is activity being partly funded as an EIF Tier 2 
project was also being explored.  FAO had been he lping Senegal on pest surveillance in order to 
enhance the export potential in horticulture.  Work  was also being done in Uganda in order to 
strengthen the capacity for phytosanitary controls in  the floriculture sector.  A PPG request had been 
received from Nepal in order to support public and private sector for SPS implementation. 
69. Referring to the fourth stream of work, project grants, he said that this stream of work was 
intended to enhance capacity to meet SPS requirement s and to protect human, animal or plant health 
against disease or pest hazards.  Focus was gi ven to addressing issues of SPS capacity building 
through innovative, preventative and replicable pilo t projects.  Projects were funded in the range of 
US$150,000 and US$600,000.  Beneficiary countries were required to meet part of the cost of the 
implementation of projects (10 per cent in the case of the LDCs and OLICs).  He further highlighted 
some STDF projects benefiting the LDCs.  A project concerning the quality of Yemeni seafood products had been completed recently, which as sisted the Yemeni seafood exporter's Association 
(YSEA) to improve the quality and safety of Yemi ni seafood products.   A project relating to the 
establishment of a Centre of Phytosanitary Exce llence in East Africa had also recently been 
completed.  Work was ongoing in Ghana to set up an e-learning curriculum and information system 
on food standards.  A project was also ongoing in Mozambique for the establishment of pest-free 
areas for lethal yellowing disease in coconuts so that  the coconut trade of Mozambique could expand.  
A project on strengthening SPS capacity in Guinea Bi ssau would soon be implemented together with 
the Trade Facilitation Facility of the World Bank.   
70. He continued by saying that beneficiary count ries should first review the eligibility criteria 
that were available on the STDF website, follo wing which they could proceed to submitting 
applications.  Requests for STDF support were cons idered three times a y ear at the STDF Working 
Group.  He informed Members that the next d eadline for submitting applications for 2011 were 
8 April and 29 July. 
71. He concluded by saying that good practices in SPS assistance was becoming increasingly 
important, since some of the lessons learned had also  been relevant for wider trade capacity-building 
programmes.  He highlighted some examples of  good practice which included:  (i) national 
ownership;  (ii) country's context and absorp tive capacity;  (iii) careful assessment and needs 
prioritization;  (iv) transparency, linkages and se quence of activities;  (v) value chain approach to 
maximize trade impact;  (vi) public and privat e sector participation;  (vii) flexibility during 
implementation;  (viii) acquisition of skills and its tr ansfer to practice;  (ix) strengthened management 
capacity and results-based management;  and (x ) evaluation of the outcome and impact.  
72. The representative of Bangladesh
, on behalf of the LDC Group in the WTO, thanked the 
representative of the STDF Secretariat for his elaborat e and informative presentation.  He noted that 
the STDF had been playing an important role as a global programme to enhance developing countries' 
expertise to analyse and implement SPS-related sta ndards.  He believed that the STDF had increased 
the effectiveness of high-quality, SPS-related techni cal cooperation.  He further noted that the STDF 
had been an integral part of Aid for Trade and ha d complemented the EIF.  He expressed appreciation 
to the STDF agencies - FAO, OIE, the World Ba nk, WHO and the WTO, as well as other agencies 
and development partners for their active contribut ions in implementing the work programme of the 
STDF. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/58 
Page 16  
 
  73. The Chairman
 reiterated the importance of overcoming standards-related constraints by the 
LDCs so as to fully utilize market access opportuniti es offered to them.  He noted that some billion 
individuals depended on livestock husbandry for th eir livelihood, and therefore they needed assistance 
to benefit from such activities.  He also noted th at developing countries needed increased assistance to 
meet SPS requirements for their agricultural exports .  He welcomed the STDF initiative which made a 
direct contribution in building capacity in the ar ea of standards.  The Facility also represented a 
successful example of how the WTO worked with  other organizations to  improve supply-side 
capacity in LDCs.  He hoped that donors would con tinue their support for this important initiative.  
He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the document contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/49 as well as of the statements made.   
74. It was so agreed
.   
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
75. The Chairman  drew the attention of Members to the Round Table on Tourism that the LDCs 
had organized in October 2010, with the support of the Centre for Socio-Economic Development 
(CSEND) and the International Association for Trad e and Sustainable Development.  The report of 
that Round Table had been circulated as WT/COMTD/LDC/18 for Members' information.    
76. The Chairman  informed Members that the next meeting of the Sub-Committee was 
tentatively scheduled for 1 July 2011.  However,  the exact date would be communicated in due 
course.1 
77. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
 
__________  
                                                      
1 Subsequently, a Sub-Committee meeting was scheduled for 5 May 2011.