RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
4 February 2011 
 (11-0588) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Twenty-First Dedicated Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 8 DECEMBER 2010 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Erwidodo (Indonesia) 
  
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 GROUPS AND 
OTHER WTO BODIES .....................................................................................................................1  
- COMPILATION PAPER PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIAT (WT/COMTD /SE/W/22/REV.5) ................1  
C. SVE ASSESSMENT OF THE DOHA ROUND , STATEMENT BY BARBADOS .........................................4  
D. OTHER BUSINESS .........................................................................................................................7  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The draft agenda for the meeting was cont ained in Airgram WTO/AIR/3673, issued on 
25 November 2010. 
2. The representative of the Maldives  requested to add an item under "Other Business" titled 
"Maldives - graduation from LDC status". 
3. The agenda was adopted  as amended. 
B. PARAGRAPH 41 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION : MONITORING PROGRESS OF 
THE SMALL ECONOMIES ' PROPOSALS IN THE NEGOTIATI NG GROUPS AND OTHER WTO BODIES  
- COMPILATION PAPER PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIAT (WT/COMTD /SE/W/22/REV.5) 
4. 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 (CTD) in Dedicated Session continue  to monitor the progress of 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 was requested to prepare a document that would assist the Dedicated Session 
in its monitoring role.  The Secret ariat was also requested to peri odically update the compilation paper 
to reflect the latest development in the negotiations. 
5. The Chairman informed Members that the la test revision to the compilation had been 
circulated in WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/Rev 5.  He noted that the main difference between this paper and 
the previous versions was that the Revision 5 vers ion reflected only the latest texts and decisions 
taken to date.  It did not provide details of how these texts evolved, as contained in the earlier WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
Page 2  
 
  revisions in the WT/COMTD/SE/W/22 series.  He pointed out that the main updates since the 
WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/Rev.4 document concerned fisheri es subsidies, the Article 27.4 extensions for 
certain small, vulnerable economies (SVEs) under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures and Trade Facilitation.  He then opene d the floor for comments from the membership. 
6. The representative of Barbados
, on behalf of the SVE proponents, said that the revision was 
valuable both in terms of its clarity of presentation and its record keeping of the most recent proposals 
and decisions relevant to the Work Programme on Small Economies.  SVEs  remained committed to 
using every opportunity to ensure that the devel opment objective of the Round was reflected in the 
special flexibilities offered to small, vulnerable ec onomies, while at the same time acknowledging the 
need for global rules in order to ensure a ba lanced and well functioning trading system which 
maximizes global welfare.  SVEs had continued to actively participate in the Doha negotiations and 
other committees.  Several new proposals and communications had been submitted to various 
negotiating groups in 2010, particularly in Fisher ies Subsidies and NAMA, a nd even in those areas 
where no new specific proposals had been tabled, SVEs continued to contribute keenly to the discussions, such as in the Services negotiations and in Agriculture. 
7. She highlighted the new elements which ha d been included in the document, using a 
chronological approach starting from the most recen t events.  In the area of NAMA, SVE delegations 
had made two submissions to the Negotiating Grou p in relation to the ongoing discussions on the 
Non-Tariff Barriers proposals.  These documents were contained in JOB/MA/55 and JOB/MA/56 on 
the "Ministerial Decision on procedures for the fac ilitation of solutions to Non-Tariff Barriers" and 
"Negotiating Text on Liberalizing Trade in Rema nufactured Goods".  They posed clarification 
questions to the relevant proponents and underscore d the need for flexibiliti es for SVEs within the 
horizontal mechanism and the remanufactured goods proposals.  
8. In the area of Fisheries Subsidies, as early as January 2010, SVEs had tabled a proposal on 
"Additional Flexibilities for Small and Vulnerable Economies under Article III of the Chair's draft 
text on Fisheries Subsidies".   This proposal s ought an exemption - for those developing countries 
with a share of world NAMA trade of not more than 0.1 per cent and whose percentage share of 
global marine wild capture is not more than 1 per cent - from the prohibition of subsidies for vessel 
construction and subsidies for operational costs.  More over, it sought to integrate more fully into the 
global trading system a group of countries that individually and collectively had a negligible impact on world trade, overfishing and over-capacity.  SVEs  had since engaged actively with Members on a 
number of specific elements related to the proposal a nd hoped to obtain further signals on how best to 
move forward on the revision of their proposal at the appropriate time.  SVEs remained concerned 
that some of the conditionality provisions in th e present draft could effectively preclude SVEs from 
benefiting from the exemption allowing for subsid ies.  The onerous nature of the fisheries 
management programme and the small size of the cr aft required for eligibility, were some examples. 
9. She also referred to work in the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  On 
28 October 2010, 15 SVE delegations were granted a continuation of the extension of the transition 
period relating to the elimination of export subsid ies by 2015.  The 15 delegations had to submit, 
along with their annual notification, an action plan  for eliminating the export subsidies within the 
programmes benefiting from an extension.  In  line with the 2007 General Council Decision 
WT/L/691, this action plan was required in the context of a mid-period assessment, as part of the 
annual review.  The beneficiary delegations were therefore hear tened by the decision taken by 
Members for the continuation of the extension through 2011, particularly against the backdrop of the 
expected long-term effects of the global economic  crisis on SVEs.  She said that because of the 
recession, SVEs had lost some three years of active growth.    
10. Finally, in the area of trade facilitation, wher e the draft consolidated negotiating text was 
under discussion, she said that SVE delegations were pleased to note the inclusion within the draft  WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
 Page 3 
 
 
  text, of a proposal by a number of SVE members, regarding a regional approach to the 
implementation of obligations under the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
11. Although SVEs had not made any specific su bmission in the Dedicated Session in recent 
times, she said that their continued work in th e negotiating bodies and other relevant committees 
reflected that SVEs had not been idle.  Rather, th eir various proposals and other submissions sought to 
build on their proactive approach to identifying ap propriate trade-related solutions that meet their 
specific developmental needs. Moreover, SVE delega tions had also been in a mode of internal 
reflection, stocktaking and brainsto rming in order to consider areas fo r future work.  One such area 
related to Aid for Trade, where consideration was being given to the development of a framework to 
assist SVEs in the process of mainstreaming and accessing Aid for Trade.  SVEs were hopeful that 
this approach would assist small, vulnerable, middle-income economies wh ich had graduated as 
beneficiaries from some aid programmes.   
12. She said that at the Seventh Ministerial Conference, Ministers acknowledged the progress 
attained to date within the Work Programme on Small Economies and directed that the work be 
continued in the Dedicated Session and in the negotiating and other bodies in the WTO.  SVE 
delegations continued to attach the highest im portance to the Dedicated Session and the Work 
Programme on Small Economies.  These are criti cal channels through which the paragraph 35 
mandate of the Doha Ministerial may be effectivel y fulfilled.  SVEs looked forward to the continued 
recognition and support of Members in helping them to achieve the paragraph 35 mandate. 
13. The representative of Mauritius  supported the statement by Ba rbados on behalf of the group 
of small, vulnerable economies.  He reminded Me mbers of the importance Mauritius, as an SVE, 
attached to a healthy, fair and equitable multilatera l trading system more generally and to the Doha 
Development Round more particularly.  He noted that  the history of development experience – both at 
the level of today's industrialized countries and the emerging economies of the developing world – 
have shown that "one size does not fit all".  Countri es at lower levels of development were able to 
advance and grow through experimentation.  They  had the flexibility to design combinations of 
industrial, trade, technological and social policies unique to their situations.  This policy space was 
critical for their development. 
14. He believed that for the Doha Round to be tr uly a development round, the concerns of all 
developing countries had to be take n into consideration.  Solutions needed to be found to address all 
specific circumstances.  His delegation expected that  the concerns of the most vulnerable, which were 
repeatedly being voiced in the numerous nego tiating bodies, would be addressed and that the 
availability of policy space for development priorities would not be compromised so that the benefits 
of the multilateral trading system could be shared by all. 
15. The representative of Dominica , on behalf of the member st ates of the Organization of 
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), supported the statem ent made by Barbados.  He said that in the 
initial work of the Dedicated Sessions, the structur al challenges which SVEs faced were adequately 
highlighted and recognized.  The recent global financ ial and economic crisis and its impact on SVEs, 
and specifically also on OECS countries, had placed additional challenges on SVE integration into the 
global economy and the multilateral trading system .  Therefore, the Work Programme on Small 
Economies continued to remain relevant.  He recogni zed the achievements that had been made so far 
in the Work Programme on Small Economies and wh ich were contained in the revised compilation 
document, specifically the draft modalities on Agri culture and NAMA and the extensions that had 
been granted under Article 27.4 of the Subsidies Ag reement.  He thanked the WTO Membership for 
the support that had been provided.    
16. The representative of El Salvador  associated his delegation with the statement made by 
Barbados on behalf of the group of  SVEs.  He said that the compil ation document reflected the state WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
Page 4  
 
  of play for the work of small, vulnerable econom ies.  The delegation of El Salvador remained 
committed to completing the Work Programme on Sm all Economies.   He said that the SVE group 
should continue to focus its efforts on achieving the conditions which fully guarantee the development 
needs of SVEs.  He recalled that the SVE group ha d introduced different contributions in various 
areas under negotiation with the aim of ensuring that the agreements reflected SVE needs and 
interests.  As the delegation of Barbados indicated, El  Salvador would continue to work to ensure that 
the multilateral trading system makes it possible for SVEs to reap the benefits of trade and aid 
development.    
17. The representative of Cuba
 supported the statement made by Ba rbados on behalf of the SVEs.  
He also expressed concern about the intensity of work which was before all delegations with the 
renewed efforts to conclude the Doha Round.  This was of particular concern to those countries which 
had very small delegations in Ge neva and which could not keep up with the very intense pace of 
negotiations.  Nevertheless, he said th at Cuba would fully take part in the collective efforts to bring to 
fruition the Doha Development Round.  He also drew attention to the fact that some proposals made 
by the SVEs had not yet received a response, fo r example a Cuban proposal concerning paragraph 5 
of Annex J of the Agriculture modalities text.   
18. The representative of Colombia  encouraged and supported the work of the SVE group and 
hoped that this work would result in greater deve lopment for developing countries.  She stressed the 
importance of the action plans drawn up for the phase out of export subsidies provided for in Article 27.4 of the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement.    
19. The Dedicated Session took note
 of the statements.  
C. SVE ASSESSMENT OF THE DOHA ROUND , STATEMENT BY BARBADOS  
20. The representative of Barbados , on behalf of the SVEs, read the following statement, the text 
of which was later circulated as document WT/COMTD/SE/W/24:    
"I take the floor at this time to offer a few remarks on our views of the Doha Round, 
as we look to enter the endgame in the coming months.  
It could well be considered that 2010 has been a somewhat mixed year in the fortune 
of the Doha Round.  We had a first quarter marked by a period of introspection and 
stocktaking, followed by a longer period of brainstorming and concentrated efforts at the re-invigoration of the Round.  More re cently, following the deliberations of a 
number of world leaders assembled for the G20 and APEC meetings, their political calls for the completion of the end game , already appear to have signalled a 
revitalization of energies in Geneva. 
While this movement is encouraging, it is vital that the development dimension of the 
Doha Development Agenda (DDA), be the axis around which the 'successful, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion'
1 of the Round is fulfilled.  With a 
share of less than 0.1 per cent of world trade, and facing the attendant challenges of 
inherent small size, the extent to which our development objectives are realised, will 
be the true test of how successful, ho w ambitious, how comprehensive and how 
balanced the conclusion of the Round may be assessed. 
                                                      
1 The Seoul Summit Document contained in TN/C/W/57, 26 November 2010.  WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
 Page 5 
 
 
  SVEs have used this period to  engage in some strategic planning with the objective of 
identifying areas where we can better bene fit from current negotiations.  Our focal 
points have proved invaluable in this exerci se, which in some respects is continuing. 
Mr. Chairman, Agriculture and NAMA have al ways been the drivers of the Round.  
We believe that whilst great progress has been made in agriculture, greater effort and 
leadership, particularly among the larger players, is needed to complete the 
agriculture negotiations.  SVEs are of the vi ew that any future discussions need to be 
based on progress made to date and that th ere should be no backtracking on any of 
the previously stabilised issues.  
In this regard there are a few agreed areas which have not yet found their way into 
text and SVEs will be making every effort to ensure that this is achieved, particularly 
in light of the expected movement of key personnel, lest agreed positions are 
forgotten and stabilized areas are questioned again. 
On the outstanding issues, the modalities to give effect to the Special Safeguard 
Mechanism for Developing Countries are of importance to SVEs.  Whilst the 
approach defining the general modalities befo re identifying the specific modalities for 
SVEs is a logical one, SVEs do not wish to  see their concerns and interests sidelined 
due to insufficient time.  There have already been exhaustive discussions on SSM 
modalities but no agreement has been reach ed.  SVEs are actively working on the 
modalities they desire, drawing on the proposal for special flexibilities drawn up for SVEs with the assistance of the G33.  This  may even help to give impetus to the 
development of general modalities.   
With regard to the NAMA negotiations, we continue to believe that any future 
progress should be based on our achievements to date, specifically in relation to the 
treatment of SVE’s in the tariff treatment in these negotiations.  There should be no attempts to undermine any progress attained  thus far, which could lead to an 
unravelling of the careful balance that we ha ve worked hard over the last few years to 
realize. 
The recent discussions in these negotiations  have continuously focused on the 
Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) proposals. In th is regard and as highlighted in the 
previous agenda item, the Group has presented various questions with regard to some 
of the NTBs proposals, which outline the need for flexibilities for SVEs.  In this 
regard, we are working towards the inclus ion of special and differential treatment 
provisions and technical assistance for SVEs in the Non-Tariff Barriers proposals, specifically on those which are being discu ssed with priority in the Negotiating 
Group (including the horizontal mechanism,  remanufactured goods, textiles labelling, 
among others) and hope that this can be reflected in the outcome of the text based 
negotiations expected in this area. 
With respect to Services where a considerable  level of agreement has been reached at 
the multilateral level, a significant number of SVE delegations consider that the 
Elements outlined in the Chair's Report of July 2008, serve as appropriate and 
adequate guidance for further work in th e Services negotiations and should not be 
re-opened, but rather updated to complete  the outstanding areas, while at the same 
time ensuring that our proposals remain releva nt to our situation and promote our best 
interests.  Our delegations continue to a ttach particular importance to our specific 
trade related concerns to be considered by Members, as stated in Paragraph 8 of WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
Page 6  
 
  Annex C the Hong Kong Ministerial Declara tion, and in recognition of our special 
situation, for further liberalization to be in accordance with our development needs.  
Any new approaches being considered in re lation to the market access negotiations, 
must be in accordance with the establishe d modalities and approaches that have been 
agreed through previous Ministerial mandates.  
Within the Services Rules negotiations, our de legations have been particularly active 
in the discussions for draft disciplines for domestic regulation, wh ere extensive legal 
and technical discussions have been taking place for some time. 
While recognizing that there is no perfect te xt, we are satisfied with the balance of 
interest that has been attained in the Ma rch 2009 Chair's draft and we look forward to 
intensification of work in this area. 
With regard to the fisheries subsidies ne gotiations, SVEs have remained engaged and 
committed to the process, as guided by the Ministerial Mandates on over fishing and over capacity, as well as the Doha and Hong Kong mandates on small vulnerable 
economies, which have instructed this Hou se and the Membership to find appropriate 
solutions to our concerns. 
SVEs have taken due note of the fact that we contribute minimally, if at all, to over 
fishing and over capacity, and consequently our proposal submitted in January this 
year, seeks enhanced flexibilities for constr uction and operating costs subsidies for 
developing countries whose percentage share of world NAMA trade is not more than 0.1 per cent; and whose percentage share of global marine wild capture is not more 
than 1 per cent. 
We are fully aware of the difficulties that remain in crafting disciplines that suit the 
interests of all Members, however we would lik e to note that in our consultations with 
Members we have found full recognition and understanding from key developed and 
developing Members of the need to find a ppropriate solutions that will effectively 
address the SVEs sensitivities in the fisheries sector. However, we look forward to a 
revision of the Chair's first draft text on Fisheries Subsidies disciplines that takes due consideration of the vulnerabilities and peculia rities that befall us as SVEs.  We look 
forward to disciplines that would allow sufficient and workable flexibilities that 
provide adequate policy space to develop our fisheries sectors and address poverty 
and rural livelihood concerns.  
As all other Groups of Negotiation under the DDA, the Rules Group has intensified 
its work and will be meeting soon in the fi rst months of the new year 2011, we look 
forward to the opportunity of engaging substa ntially with Member in order to keep 
our issue at the top of the list of priorities within the discussion of the S&DT for developing countries in the Fisheries Subsidies negotiation.  We must ensure that 
SVE concerns are not overlooked until the end game. 
In Trade Facilitation, although no formal SVE Group proposal has been tabled, of 
interest to our delegations is the reali sation of the mandate in Annex D of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial which requires that special and differential treatment should 
go beyond additional time periods for implem entation.  Our delegations are further 
interested in the crafting of provisions that  seek to aid our development, as well as a 
commitment to the provision of adequate  and effective technical assistance and 
capacity building.    WT/COMTD/SE/M/21 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Mr. Chairman, it is well recognised that  our concerns and the flexibilities being 
sought through our various proposals are not th e stumbling blocks of this Round. We 
therefore consider that they should not be  treated marginally, pending the completion 
of those issues that are more challenging.  We look forward to early and sustained 
engagement on our outstanding identified ar eas of interest towards the delivery of 
specific and effective trade related responses to our needs. 
We have recommended to Members that th ey use the next few months to conduct 
simulation exercises so as to ascertain how  the modalities will work for them when 
implemented.  This is intended to gi ve Members an opportunity to spot any 
unexpected outcomes which might present themselves when the modalities become 
operational. 
Finally Mr. Chairman, I wish to conclude with a few words about Aid for Trade.  
Although not a part of the Doha negotiati ng Agenda, its importance as a mechanism 
to increase and facilitate our productive capacity  to trade, cannot be overstated.  For 
many of our delegations, trade is th e key vehicle through which economic 
development can occur.  The combination of our inherent structural vulnerabilities 
and the uncertainty of the present global e nvironment, makes the need for assured and 
predictable commitments to resources for trade development all the more relevant in helping us benefit from any market access opportunities which may emanate from the Doha Round.  This has the potential to b ecome an important driver for the fuller 
integration of Small, Vulnerable Economi es into the multilateral trading system." 
21. The Dedicated Session took note
 of the statement. 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
22. The representative of the Maldives , reminded Members that the Maldives was due to graduate 
from LDC status on 1 January 2011.  He said that th e change of status would impact Maldives' rights 
and obligations as a Member of WTO.  The Maldives  was thus working with the Secretariat and the 
membership to address any issue that may arise as a result.  To this effect, the Maldives would be 
making a formal statement at the next Genera l Council meeting as a sub-item under the agenda 
concerning the Work Programme on Small Economies. 
23. He said that the Maldives, as a small economy, fully subscribed to the Work Programme on 
Small Economies and would lend its voice to support all the initiativ es of the SVEs.  His delegation 
stood ready to work constructively with other SV Es, and with the wider membership, in seeking 
solutions to deal with inherent vulnerabilities and to further common shared interests as small 
economies.  He also expressed his delegation's suppor t to the statements made by Barbados on behalf 
of the SVEs.  
24. The Dedicated Session took note  of the statement. 
25. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________