RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
21 December 2007 
 (07-5712) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Forty-Eighth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 18 OCTOBER 2007 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Jean Feyder (Luxembourg) 
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD /LDC/11)....................................................................................................................1  
(i) Market Access for Leas t-Developed Countries...........................................................................1  
(ii) Accession of Least-Developed Countries..................................................................................14  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................17  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Sub-Committee adopted  the draft agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/3083.  The 
Chairman informed Members that the Chair of th e Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Interim 
Board would make a statement under Other Business. 
B. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (WT/COMTD /LDC/11) 
2. The Chairman  said that he would take up two elements of the WTO Work Programme for the 
Least-Developed Countries (LDCs), namely:  (i) mark et access for LDCs;  and (ii)  accession of 
LDCs. 
(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/41) 
 
3. The Chairman  recalled that paragraph 7 of the WTO Work Programme for the LDCs had 
mandated a review of market access for products originating from LDCs.  The note entitled "Market 
Access for products and services of export inter est to the LDCs", contained in document 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/41, had been prepared in pursuan ce of that mandate.  It had built on the earlier 
studies by the Secretariat and had provided informati on on recent trends in LDC trade flows, covering 
goods and, to some extent, services.  It also exam ined market access conditions for LDC exports in 
developed and developing country markets and ga ve an update of recent market access initiatives 
taken by Members in favour of LDCs.  Specific atte ntion had been given to the issue of preference 
utilization.  He invited the Secretariat to introduce the note. 
4. The representative of the Secretariat  said that the note had thr ee main objectives:  first, to 
identify the main trends in exports of LDCs;  second, to review the market access situation for WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
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  products originating from LDCs;  and third, to identify recent initiatives taken by Members to 
improve market access for LDC products.  He said that the study would provide only an indicative picture of the trade and market access situation of  LDCs due to lack of statistical information on 
LDCs' trade.   
5. He went on to say that since 2000, merchandise exports from LDCs had increased rapidly, 
and that the average annual growth of exports w as above the world average.  This acceleration was 
mainly due to the rise in exports of oil and minerals .  Over the 2000 to 2006 period, the value of LDC 
exports of fuels and minerals had increased by an  annual average of 26 per cent.  Since 2003, there 
had also been a sudden rise in the exports of ot her goods by the LDCs, in particular agricultural 
products and manufactured products – the value of which increased on a yearly average of 5 to 
10 per cent.  That was half of the growth registered compared to the growth in oil and mineral exports.  
Moreover, in 2006, the LDCs, as a group, had regi stered a positive trade balance amounting to 
US$5 billion, representing 2 per cent of total LDC trade.   
6. He noted that although the aggregate growth pe rformance registered by the LDCs as a group 
was high, there had been a substantial variation in  the export performance across LDCs.  Referring to 
Table 2 of the note, he drew Members' attention to the fact that while LDC exporters of oil had 
registered an annual average of 26 per cent over the period 2000 to 2006, LDC exporters of 
agricultural products had experienced a growth rate  of around 13 per cent, with a trade deficit of 
30 per cent.  LDC exporters of manufactures had re gistered moderate growth rates – an annual 
average of 12 per cent over the 2000 to 2006 peri od – exhibiting better im port coverage from export 
receipts.  Overall, the rise in oil and mineral pri ces had led to a consolidation of the dominant position 
of oil and other fuels in the structure of LDC expor ts.  For example, oil and mineral fuels represented 
more than half of the total LDC exports in 2005.  The share of other export items in the LDC export 
basket had gone down.  Imports by the European  Communities (EC) and the United States (US) from 
the LDCs had experienced a shar p decline in 2005 compared to 2000, although these two markets 
together, still accounted for more than half of LDC exports.  He further noted that the EC and US 
together had been absorbing more than 90 per cen t of manufactured products exported by the LDCs. 
7. He said that LDC exports to developing count ries had been increasing over the past few years 
reaching 38 per cent of LDC exports in 2005.  This ha d underlined the potential of South-South trade.  
The developing countries had become important impo rters of fuels from LDCs, registering slightly 
higher imports than developed economies in 2005.  He added that exports of commercial services 
from LDCs had been increasing steadily with an av erage growth rate of 10 per cent over the 2000 to 
2006 period.  The share of LDCs in world trade in  commercial services was 1 per cent in 2005, which 
was almost identical to th e share of LDCs in merchandise trade (0.9 per cent of world trade in 2005).  
The LDCs had earned increased revenues mostly through tourism activities as compared to other 
types of services exports.  Travel (mostly tourism) had become an important service sector of export interest to LDCs, and had accounted for more than  50 per cent of total service exports from LDCs in 
2006. 
8. He pointed out that the basic pattern of most -favoured-nation (MFN) tari ffs had revealed that 
many importing countries did not levy duties on minerals and petroleu m products under the MFN 
regime.  This implied that the LDCs did not enjo y additional preference under those lines.  He said 
that market access conditions for LDC exports, including in other developing countries, were 
monitored through a series of indicators.  The note illustrated two indicators to examine market access 
conditions for LDC exports.  The first indicator u sed was the degree of duty-free access in terms of 
the value of LDC exports entering developed countri es (one with figures excluding arms and the other 
one with figures excluding arms and oil).  From the first Table in Box 2 of the note, it could be 
inferred that LDC market access to developed count ry markets had been improving over the period 
2000 to 2005.  He also pointed out that relative a dvantages offered to the LD Cs were less pronounced 
when arms and oil were excluded from the duty- free calculations.  Excluding arms and oil, the  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
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  proportion of duty-free imports into develope d country markets from LDCs was less than 
4 percentage points higher than the average fo r developing countries (78.7 per cent as against 
75.3 per cent in 2005).  However, developed countries ' average tariffs on imports of agricultural or 
textile products from LDCs were lowe r than the tariffs applicable to developing countries.  A majority 
of LDCs had enjoyed preferential tariff-rate quotas in developed country markets.  In this regard, the 
LDCs' preference margin fo r agricultural products was sizeable.  Studies had shown that a 5 per cent 
margin of preference, which the LDCs had b een enjoying for agricultural products, could be 
considered a minimum threshold to induce the exporte rs to claim a preferential rate instead of MFN 
and to make preference schemes effective. 
9. He explained that the note had also provided a disaggregation of market access conditions 
facing LDC exports, both in terms of tariff lines and trade value, by groups of products, in selected 
developed country markets.  In general, th e LDCs had been benefiting from non-reciprocal 
preferences as far as trade in goods was concerned, especially in developed country markets.  He said 
that the data presented in the note was for the year  2005.  Table 9(a) had shown that when imports 
were not allowed duty free, dutiable tariff lines were  usually concentrated on agricultural products.  
He pointed out that a high number of duty-free tariff lines did not necessarily ensure a high percentage 
of duty-free imports, and vice versa.  Taking the exam ple of Japan, he illustrated that while Japan had 
provided nearly 50 per cent of its tariff lines on agriculture duty free, the percentage of duty-free agricultural imports from LDCs was 97 per cent.  However, the overall percentage of duty-free 
imports by Japan from LDCs was 27 per cent due to the fact that a large portion of Japan's imports 
from LDCs was oil which was subject to specific duti es.  In the case of the US, the percentage of 
duty-free imports of non-agriculture products from LD Cs was not high, although the number of tariff 
lines granted duty free was close to 84 per cent.   
10. He said that the note covered the issue of preference utilization, although availability of 
comprehensive and comparable official data on pr eference schemes was limited.  He added that 
effective utilization of preferences depended on a numb er of factors, including rules of origin criteria 
associated with preference schemes, administrative co sts for using the scheme, supply-side constraints 
faced by the LDCs and competition from other developi ng countries.  It had been found that the 
utilization of non-reciprocal preference schemes vari ed from one scheme to another.  He said that 
favourable treatment for oil represented a large part of the LDC specific preference in the US market.  
The utilization rate for the US generalized syst em of preference for least-developed beneficiary 
countries (GSP-LDBC) in 2005 was 73 per cent (the  utilization rate was 40 per cent excluding oil 
from the GSP-LDBC).  He said that a number of LDCs such as Bangladesh and Cambodia had been 
exporting apparels to the US market on an MFN basis. 
11. Finally, he said that the note provided an upda te of the recent initiatives to improve market 
access for products originating from LDCs, includi ng information on the implementation of the 
decision on duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access taken at the Sixth WTO Ministerial 
Conference.  Information regarding steps taken by Members to implement the decision on duty-free 
and quota-free (DFQF) market access were provided in  paragraphs 66 through 68, while information 
on other market access initiatives taken in favour of LD Cs in regional or bilate ral trade contexts were 
provided in paragraphs 69 through 71. 
12. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs, said that  he attached great importance 
to the work of the Sub-Committee.  He expressed a ppreciation for the note that had been prepared by 
the Secretariat and which contained data, facts and some analysis of the situation of LDCs in world 
trade.  He requested that the document be kept on th e agenda of the next meeting so as to give LDCs 
enough time to have an in-depth examination. 
13. He said that the issue of mark et access for LDC products was of fundamental interest to the 
LDCs.  Market access for LDCs in other countri es, whether developed or developing, would WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 4  
 
  determine whether they had an opportunity to bene fit from the WTO agreements.  He then noted that 
the share of merchandise exports in world trade ha d increased in 2005 compared to 2003.  However, 
there was variation in the individual export performance of LDCs.  The oil exporting LDCs had been performing better due to a rise in oil prices sinc e 2003.  Some mineral exporting LDCs had witnessed 
an increase in their export revenues.  The LDC e xporters of manufacturers were also experiencing 
modest growth over the past few years.  That le ft the LDCs that had been exporting commodities 
(other than oil and minerals) and agricultural produc ts.  This section of LDCs had not been able to 
benefit much from international trade.  He, therefor e, made a suggestion that the next study by the 
Secretariat should focus more on the market acces s situation of LDCs in the agricultural or 
commodity sectors in a holistic manner so as to identify  the problems faced by the LDCs.  It would be 
useful to look at the prevalence of both tariff and non-tariff measures in one particular sector.  
Another area of attention could be rules of origin, which had so far remained a grey area, where LDCs 
did not have sufficient knowledge. 
14. He welcomed the increased attention that had been given on services exports.  Services were 
growing in importance worldwide, and LDCs woul d continue to lag behind unless Members provided 
them with effective access in areas of comparative advantage to them.  For many LDCs, improved 
mobility of less-skilled service providers could be an  important way of participating in the services 
trade.  He felt that it was an opportune time for Members to engage with the LDCs and to discuss the 
proposals that the LDCs had submitted in the negotiations. 
15. He went on to say that the decision taken at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference to 
provide DFQF market access to the LDCs was one  of the most significant decisions taken by 
Members in the Doha Round.  The LDCs were ha ppy to note that almost all developed country 
Members had started implementing this Decision.  He hoped that Members which had not yet done so 
would accelerate steps to implement the Decision.  Ta ble 9(a) showed that much more could be done 
by some major trading partners to provide DFQF market access to LDC products.  He recognized the 
efforts of developing countries in providing opportu nities for enhanced exports from LDCs to their 
markets.  In this regard, the contribution by Chin a was acknowledged.  He hoped that LDCs would be 
able to participate more in South-South trade.  He urged developing country Members which were in 
a position to do so to grant DFQF market access to the LDCs. 
16. He appreciated the fact that the note had touc hed on the issue of preference erosion, which 
was a cause of concern for many LDCs.  It was reco gnized that the LDC exports would be affected in 
view of the current negotiations, in both of thei r major markets – the EC and the US.  It was, 
therefore, important to find appropriate solutions to the problem of preference erosion within the 
negotiations.  He said that exports of LDCs were co ncentrated on only a few products and the lack of 
diversification was also of serious concern.  In this regard, he hoped that the current discussions on 
Aid-for-Trade would bring concrete results for LDCs, especially to improve the trade-related 
infrastructure in the LDCs.  In conclusion, he sai d that the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) had the 
potential to make real improvements in market a ccess for LDCs' products and that Members should 
not let this opportunity pass by.  Increased, predicta ble and effective market access to the LDCs could 
provide their exporters an opportunity to penetrat e markets.  At the same time, the international 
community should take complementary measures to build the export base in the LDCs so that the 
opportunities created through market access could actually be realized. 
17. The representative of Senegal
 associated himself with the st atement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  He expressed his appreciati on to the Secretariat for the high quality of the 
document.  The analysis in the note had highlight ed the relevance and importance of preferences for 
LDCs.  The EC and the US had been the main markets for LDC exports, and this was largely 
facilitated by preferences granted by these countries.   The decision taken at the WTO Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference to provide DFQF market ac cess to the LDCs was significant.  The LDCs 
considered the decision as an important tool to he lp them develop their export capacities.  The LDCs  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
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  were also aware that granting of preferences was not  enough to penetrate markets.  Other factors such 
as the rules of origin criteria had been constraini ng the LDCs' effective utilization of the preference 
schemes that were granted to them.  He underlined the importance of simplified rules of origin that 
were associated with non-recipro cal preference schemes.  At the same time, there should be support 
for productive capacity building.  He noted that th e share of services in total LDC exports had been 
falling.  Commercial services represented only 12 per cent of the total LDC export receipts on average 
over the period 2000 to 2006, which was lower than th e world average of 19 per cent.  In this regard, 
he asked the Secretariat to explain this downward trend.  He underlined the importance of services 
negotiations under the current Round  of negotiations.  The LDCs had potentials in services exports.  
Members had adopted modalities for the special trea tment for LDCs in the negotiations on trade in 
services.  LDCs had submitted a collective request on mode 4, seeking access for certain categories of 
natural persons supplying services under mode 4 of Ge neral Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).  
He regretted the fact that there was no movement on that proposal.  He urged Members to take action 
so that LDCs could benefit from services trade.  In conclusion, he sought additional information from 
the Secretariat regarding the positive trade balance th at the LDCs had registered in the year 2006, in 
particular how many LDCs had registered such a tr ade surplus and what the share of oil and mineral 
exporters had been in that total surplus. 
18. The representative of Bangladesh  associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  His delegation attached high importance to the study undertaken by the 
Secretariat.  It was one of the cornerstones of  the Work Programme for the LDCs.  The study 
contained plenty of data and information on LDCs ' trade as well as market access conditions facing 
LDC exports.  The information provided was inte resting and needed thorough analysis.  His 
delegation needed more time for an in-depth study of the note.  He, therefore, requested that the 
document be kept on the agenda of the next meeting. 
19. He said that export concentration had continued to be the typical feature of the LDCs' export 
profile.  Exports of LDCs were characterized by their concentration on a few products.  Export 
baskets of many LDCs consisted of three to four  products.  It was obvious that, in the immediate 
future, it would not be possible for the LDCs to diversify from the current export base and venture 
into new products successfully.  Therefore, i mmediate and unconditional duty-free market access for 
all LDC products should be a priority for the WT O Membership.  He noted that the LDCs were 
increasingly exploiting the developing country mark ets such as China.  However, the major export 
destinations for LDC products still remained th e EC and the US.  These two economies together 
attracted almost 50 per cent of the global export of  the LDCs.  Hence, the market access conditions 
provided by these two major markets for LDCs were of crucial importance to the LDC exporters.  He 
called upon the EC and the US to expedite steps to fu rther improve  market a ccess for LDCs.  In this 
regard, his delegation was awaiting the results of the work that was being undertaken to reform the 
current preferential rules of origin regime by th e EC.  He also expressed concern that the domestic 
processes initiated by the US to im plement the decision on DFQF market access was being protracted.  
He underlined the fact that the world was becomi ng competitive by the day.  The LDCs did not start 
on the same level playing field when competing with other countries under the multilateral trading 
system.  That was the reason why the LDCs needed some latitude that could help boost their trade. 
20. Concerning Table 9(a), he said that although 83 per cent of the non-agriculture tariff lines  of 
the US was duty free, the percentage of duty-free imports of non-agricultural products from LDCs in 
2005 was barely 20 per cent.  That situation needed  to be rectified.  He urged the US and other 
Members to implement fully and faithfully the decision on DFQF market access taken at the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and not to exclude  any existing export item of LDCs from DFQF 
treatment.  He stressed that the implementation of the decision on DFQF market access for LDCs had to be commercially meaningful.  He also noted th e efforts being made by the developing country 
Members to improve market access for LDC products.  However, looking at Table 9(b) of the note, it 
appeared that apart from China, the major deve loping country destinations for LDC exports had WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
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  allowed only a small portion of LDC exports to en ter duty free.  He encouraged the developing 
countries declaring themselves in a position to do so to make further efforts to improve market access 
for LDCs so that the LDCs could have a broader market base for their exports. 
21. He said that the only limitation of the note was its focus on providing an aggregate picture of 
LDCs' trade.  In this regard, he hoped that the Secr etariat would make efforts in the future to include 
in-depth examination of a few sectors or areas of im portance to the LDCs.  Rules of origin was an 
issue where the LDCs did not have sufficient know ledge and information.  Although the issue had 
been covered in previous studies by the Secretaria t, a renewed focus could help LDCs understand the 
issue better. 
22. He then made some observations on services trade.  Services trade was of growing 
importance to the LDCs.  There was a natural limit  of exporting goods.  Therefore, enhanced and 
effective market access to LDCs' services and service suppliers was critical for the LDCs to diversify 
their export base and to beneficially integrate into  the multilateral trading system.  He welcomed the 
efforts by the Secretariat in compiling services trad e statistics for the LDCs.  The Secretariat note 
contained in JOB(07)/148 contained interesting info rmation.  The LDCs were making all efforts to 
liberalize the services sectors in order to achieve economic efficiency.  On the contrary, progress was 
slow in opening up sectors and modes of supply of export interest to the LDCs. 
23. He expressed frustration that in a Developmen t Round of negotiations, Members had failed to 
make progress in critical areas of importance to the LDCs such as mode 4.  He noted from the Secretariat document that it was difficult to identify b ilateral markets in services trade, due to lack of 
data.  In this regard, he sought suggestions fro m the Secretariat as to how information could be 
retrieved on bilateral services trade.  It was im portant that, as in the area of goods, LDCs could 
identify the important markets in services trade.  He requested the Secretariat to give further 
clarifications on the section dealing with rem ittances receipts.  He understood that workers' 
remittances might not be fully reflective of mode 4 of GATS.  A breakdown of remittances by countries could be of immense help to the LDCs.  In conclusion, he said that the DDA had offered an 
opportunity to enhance services exports from the LDCs.  Special modalities were adopted for 
according special treatment to the LDCs.  Members were required to work out a special priority 
mechanism for effective market a ccess for LDCs' services and servi ce suppliers.  There had been no 
progress in negotiations on categories of natural persons  that LDCs were interested in.  Nor had there 
been any concrete progress in developing a special pr iority mechanism as contained in Annex C of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Decision.  He hoped that Me mbers would give due attention to LDC concerns 
in the services negotiations. 
24. The representative of Tanzania
 associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  The note contained much information which his authorities would need to 
examine thoroughly.  He hoped that the note would re main on the agenda of the next meeting of the 
Sub-Committee.  He then made a few preliminary re marks on the note.  He said that the note had 
discussed the overall trends in LDCs' trade.  Oil exporting LDCs had been doing better than other 
LDCs.  The principal exports of his country were  commodities.  He noted from Table 2 of the note 
that the growth rate of exports for his country ha d been falling over the last few years.  That was a 
cause of concern.  He further noted that tourism activities had been of particular importance to the 
LDCs.  It was encouraging to note that tourist a rrivals in LDCs had been increasing.  The tourism 
sector accounted for 17 per cent of his country's GDP and 25 per cent of total exports.  With regard to 
the information provided on services trade, he request ed more disaggregated data building on Table 7 
of the note, in particular showing how different  LDCs had been doing individually in terms of 
revenues generated from tourism activ ities.  He also found the trend of increasing LDC exports to 
developing countries interesting.  However, the composition of LDC exports to developing countries 
remained concentrated in oil, raw materials or co mmodities.  He emphasized the need for the LDCs to 
export value-added products to both  developed and developing countries.  In this regard, the issue of  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 7 
 
 
  tariff escalation would need to be addressed.  He went on to say that the studies by the Secretariat for 
the past few years had been tracing the top ten mark ets for LDC exports.  In order to have a better 
picture of LDC markets, he requested that the S ecretariat expand the list of major markets for LDC 
exports by showing at least the top 20 markets of export interest to the LDCs.  He noted that LDC tariff profiles had been provided in the Annex to the note.  He said that he would like to see similar 
tariff profiles for major markets for LDCs.  In conc lusion, he reiterated the need to implement the 
decision on DFQF market access for LDCs taken at  the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 
2005.  The EC and the US were the two major d estinations for LDCs making up for more than 
50 per cent of LDC exports.  DFQF market access to th ese markets with flexible rules of origin would 
make a real impact on LDC exports. 
25. The representative of Nepal
 said that the meeting was of special significance for LDCs as it 
was taking place at a critical time of the DDA negotiations.  He thanked the Secretariat for providing an analytical document for consideration by Memb ers.  He associated himself with the statement 
made by Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He underlined the importance of economic development in 
the LDCs through export promotion.   LDCs' exports should be exempt ed from all duties, to facilitate 
and accelerate economic growth in the LDCs.  He noted from the Secretariat document that the export 
performance of the LDCs, as a Group, had been improving gradually.  However, this robust growth performance had been concentrated in the oil and co mmodity exporters.  There had been a substantial 
variation in export performance across the LDCs.  Ma ny LDCs had experienced a deficit in their trade 
balance with imports outpacing exports.  In this  context, DFQF market access for all products 
originating from LDCs had been a long-standing as piration of LDCs.  The operationalization of the 
decision on DFQF market access taken at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference was crucial 
for the LDCs to integrate into th e multilateral trading system.  He urged the development partners to 
provide the LDCs with DFQF market access for a ll products as soon as possible.  He also urged 
developing country Members declaring themselves in  a position to do so to expedite the process of 
providing DFQF market access to the LDCs.  He ex pressed appreciation to the Government of Japan 
for its decision to extend DFQF facility to the LDCs for 98 per cent tariff lines, as from April 2007.   
He underlined the need for simple and transparent rules of origin which would facilitate market access 
for LDC products, and in particular would make th e DFQF market access meaningful for the LDCs.  
He pointed out that supply-side constraints were  reducing the competitiveness of LDCs in global 
markets undermining their trade potential.  He noted  the progress made in the implementation of the 
EIF.  He expressed gratitude to LDCs' development partners for their generous support for the EIF.  
He also sought support from development partners  in operationalizing the Aid-for-Trade mechanism 
to address LDCs' supply-side constraints includi ng addressing adjustment costs.  The issue of 
preference erosion due to MFN tariff liberalizati on was of concern to the LDCs. The impact from 
preference erosion on all the export products of all LDCs should be taken into account, and both trade 
and non-trade measures should be adopted to address  the consequences from preference erosion.  He 
referred to the note prepared by the Secretaria t (JOB(07)/80) to identify products which were 
potentially vulnerable to preference erosion.  Th at note defined four categories of "risks" from a 
non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations pe rspective.  His country was included as one of 
the LDCs identified as category 4 risks, indicating highe r risk of being affected by preference erosion 
in NAMA, as far as the EU-25 market was concerned.   In conclusion, he called for the liberalization 
of sectors and modes of supply of export interest to  LDCs, in particular mode 4, which would help 
promote employment and contribute to poverty redu ction in the LDCs.  He too hoped for an early 
operationalization of a special priority mechanism for LDCs in the services negotiations.  He urged 
Members to work towards an early implemen tation of the LDCs' modalities in the services 
negotiations. 
26. The representative of Benin
 associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He requested that the document be kept on the agenda for a comprehensive examination 
by the LDCs.  The LDCs had been facing difficulties in enhancing exports to international markets.  
In addition to the traditional constraints that had been  highlighted by the LDCs in the past, one factor WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 8  
 
  needed special attention.  This was the issue of export-transaction costs that reduced the international 
competitiveness of the LDCs.  The comparison of tr ansaction costs with deve loped and developing 
countries confirmed that the LDCs were facing a comparative disadvantage in exporting goods.  The 
unit costs that LDCs faced per container were 83 times higher than those for the OECD countries.  
This indicated that a great deal of work was requi red to reduce export-transaction costs in the LDCs.  
An effective public-private part nership could help improve comp etitiveness of LDC exports.  He 
requested that ideas be explored on how to manage the export-transaction costs in the LDCs.  In this 
regard, he stressed that the Aid-for-Trade initiative could address some of the constraints faced by the 
LDCs relating to transaction costs.  He thanked the Secretariat for providing information notes on 
LDC services and service sector reforms.  He would transmit the document to his capital with a view 
to providing the Secretariat with further information. 
27. The representative of Japan
 thanked the Secretariat for an informative note.  He drew the 
attention of Members to the statistics provided in the note.  He said that the statistics used in the note 
were of 2005, which could not ta ke into account the recent initiative taken by his Government in 
providing DFQF market access to the LDCs.  He th anked the delegation of Nepal for referring to the 
measures undertaken by his Government.  The Secr etariat had also noted Japan's new measure in 
paragraph 66 of the note.  He reiterated that Jap an had already implemented the decision, on DFQF 
market access taken at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, as of 1 April 2007.  The coverage of DFQF market access was 98 per cent in terms of tariff lines and over 99 per cent in terms 
of import value.  
28. The representative of China
 welcomed the document prepared by the Secretariat, which was 
more substantive in content than the previous stud y by the Secretariat. The note had also improved in 
terms of its structure and had better responded to the requirements of paragraph 7 of the WTO Work 
Programme for the LDCs.  However, his delegation not ed that some parts of the document needed to 
be improved in order to more comp rehensively reflect the situation for LDC exports to major markets.  
He said that paragraph 15 of the note, while r ecognizing the increasing importance of China as the 
third largest destination for LDC exports absorbing 18 per cent of LDCs' total exports in 2005, added 
the phrase of "mainly primary commodities".  In this regard, it was noted in paragraph 11 that mineral 
fuels and oils had represented more than 50 per cent of the total external sales of LDCs in 2005.  
However, the note did not give any indication of how other major markets of LDCs were doing in 
terms of their imports from LDCs, particularly on the share of primary commodities in their total 
imports from the LDCs. 
29. He went on to say that Table 11 relating to imports of textiles and clothing into Quad markets 
had singled out China as the only non-LDC country feat uring in the Table with detailed statistics.  No 
other developed or developing country Member was in cluded in that Table.  He underlined that his 
delegation was uncomfortable with the prominence that his country had received in the note.  He 
sought clarification from the Secretariat as to the reason why only China was included in Table 11 and 
wished to know the purpose it sought to serve.  He reiterated that China had been working, and would 
continue to work, to provide better market access to  exports from the LDCs.  In 2005, the percentage 
of duty-free imports by China from the LDCs was 93 per cent.  His Government had also been 
helping the LDCs to address supply-side constr aints through its various assistance programmes, 
including a series of unilateral initiatives recently announced to expand duty-free tariff lines for all 
LDCs, having diplomatic relations with China, ma inly focusing on products other than primary 
commodities.  He also noted that the figures quoted  in paragraphs 70 to 71 concerning new market 
access initiatives by China in favour of LDCs did no t match those received from his capital.  He 
would verify those figures with his capital and would provide the Secretariat with the correct 
information.  In that context, he added that pa ragraphs 70 to 71 as well as Annex Table 2 of the note 
would need to be revised.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 9 
 
 
  30. In conclusion, he expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for the hard work in preparing a 
comprehensive note.  The remarks by his delegation were meant to improve the note.  He pointed out 
that the document was issued only two days prior to the meeting and therefore his delegation would 
need more time to study it further.  His delega tion might come back with more comments at future 
meetings of the Sub-Committee. 
31. The representative of the Secretariat  apologized for having issued  the document at a late 
stage.  The Secretariat had made efforts to extend the breadth of the documents and to provide detailed statistics on trade concerning LDCs.  Due to the nature of the document, translation was not 
easy and thus had caused a delay in the circulation of  the French version of the document.   He hoped 
that the Secretariat would be able to prod uce the next study faster than this time. 
32. He pointed out that the decre ase in the share of services in total exports from LDCs since 
2003 was due to an increase in the export of good s, in particular energy goods.  However, the 
participation of LDCs in services trade had been growing.  Between 2000 and 2005, there had been a 
41 per cent increase in the arrival of tourists in  LDCs which was higher than the world average 
(17 per cent).  The financial receipts for LDCs had grown during the same period by 76 per cent 
against a world average of 41 per cent.  This indicated  that the LDCs as a market for tourism had been 
growing rapidly and, ther efore, the situation in services trade was not as bleak as it seemed.  He noted 
that the increase in oil prices had somewhat dist orted the overall structure of LDC exports.  The 
specific situation of LDCs in world trade could be reviewed in Table 2 of the note.  He took note of the suggestions made at the meeting to further improv e the note, in particular to refine the categories 
of LDCs based on their export sp ecialities, including their size. 
33. He said that it was difficult to analyze and fo llow international trade without mentioning 
China which had been the engine of trade growth in  the past few years.  Concerns were expressed by 
the LDCs that the termination of the Agreemen t on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) would have an 
adverse impact on exports from the LDCs, especially  the major LDC textiles and clothing exporters 
such as Bangladesh and Cambodia.  The Secret ariat had not only singled out China but also 
Bangladesh and Cambodia to see the trends in textil es and clothing exports.  The statistics showed 
that two major LDC exporters of textiles and clothi ng products were able to expand their exports after 
the termination of the ATC. 
34. The Chairman
 thanked the Secretariat for the responses to the questions and comments raised.  
He noted that each and every delegation had under scored the importance of the study.  The note was 
more comprehensive than that of the previous year .  He noted that Members had requested that the 
document be kept on the agenda for the next meeting.  In that regard, he requested that the document 
be forwarded to the respective capitals of Member s, so that governments could assess the analysis 
made by the Secretariat and could provide the Se cretariat with additional information to further 
improve the note.  He underlined the need to furthe r improve the statistics contained in the note.  He 
reiterated that the WTO Work Programme for the LD Cs had attached high importance to the review 
of market access for LDC exports.  He noted that since 2000, the LDCs had been performing better in 
the area of merchandise exports, and that the LDCs  as a group had registered a positive trade balance 
in 2006.  However, 55 per cent of total aggregate exports of LDCs was accounted for by only five 
LDCs.  He expressed the hope that all LDCs would be  able to increase their participation in world 
trade.  He noted that developing countries were  also becoming important export destinations for 
LDCs.   
35. He continued by saying that the magnitude of LD Cs' exports of textiles and clothing products 
was not high, excluding Bangladesh and Cambodia.  That situation was not satisfactory;  it would be useful to see the reasons behind this and what could be done to improve it in future analysis by the 
Secretariat.  He underlined the importance of agriculture to the economies of LDCs, noting that agricultural activities engaged between 50 to 80 per cent of the population in the LDCs.  The WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 10  
 
  agricultural sector had a great potential for exports from a large number of LDCs.  He was 
disappointed to see that most of the LDC exporters  of agricultural products had been experiencing a 
trade deficit.  The situation required to be examin ed in-depth, and be reversed.  Measures would need 
to be identified to improve the trade capacity of LDC exporters of agricultural products.  He felt that 
the development dimension of trade would mean an  opportunity for those LDCs exporting agricultural 
products.  Trade should be seen as an instrument  to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  
He had recently participated in a meeting held in Berne (Switzerland) on "Right to Food", which had 
shown that there were around 850 million people around the world living in starvation, of which many 
were in the LDCs.  To him, it was a paradoxical s ituation that an overwhelming majority of LDCs 
were involved in agriculture and yet they were experi encing a food deficit.  He said that the Food and 
Agriculture Organization (FAO) had indicated that the prices of certain food products such as wheat 
had been rising, and therefore further widening the food deficit situation in the LDCs.  He emphasized 
the need to find effective ways to address this situ ation.  He went on to say that market access for 
LDC products was not enough, and that the LDCs needed assistance to overcome their inherent 
capacity constraints.  He hoped that the Aid-for-T rade initiative and, in particular, the EIF would 
make a major contribution in building trade capacity in the LDCs.  He proposed that the 
Sub-Committee take note of the Secretariat documen t and of the statements made.  The document 
would be kept on the agenda for the next meeting of the Sub-Committee. 
36. It was so decided
. 
- Market Access Issues for Least-Developed Coun tries in the Area of Trade in Services 
(JOB(07)/32/Rev.1, and JOB(07)/148) 
 
37. The Chairman  said that under this item, two notes, prepared by the Secretariat, would be 
considered.  He recalled that the note containe d in document JOB(07)/32/Rev.1 had already been 
discussed at the previous session of the Sub-Committee.  It presented a number of issues of interest to 
LDCs in the area of trade in services, including information sheets on services combining trade flows 
and trade policy measures for Angola and Bangladesh.  At the last session, the LDCs as well as other 
Members, had requested the Secretariat to prepar e such trade information sheets for all LDCs.  
Accordingly, the Secretariat had prepared a s econd note on this item compiling trade information 
sheets (services) for all WTO LDC Members.  Th e note issued as JOB(07)/148 provided information 
on service sector reforms as well as statistics on services trade flows.  He invited the Secretariat to introduce the latest note on this item. 
38. The representative of the Secretariat
 said that as per the request  from the Sub-Committee, the 
Secretariat had developed the latest note containing trade information sheets covering all WTO LDC Members.  Each information sheet had two secti ons.  The first section contained information on 
service sector reforms, including potential export interests in services which drew information from 
generally available international sources, including Trade Policy Review (TPR) reports prepared by 
the Secretariat since 2000, Economist Intelligence Unit and UNCTAD World Investment Reports.  
The basic purpose of the first section was to give a snap-shot of recent reforms in the main services 
sectors undertaken by the LDCs.  The second section c ontained trade data in services.  This section 
was based on Balance of Payments statistics – the only services trade statistics available on a global basis – as well as other available sources such as UNCTAD, UNESCO, the World Bank and the 
World Tourism Organisation.  He explained that so me data would not fully capture trade in services 
in each of the four modes of supply covered in th e GATS, but would nevertheless give an indication 
of the type and magnitude of flows in a specific se ctor such as telecommunication, tourism, etc.  In 
the case of the tourism sector, receipts from tourism activities could be an indicator for exports of services.  Relevant information covering maritime transport services was also included in the note.  
Information related to trade under modes 3 and 4 was also covered in the note.  However, these data 
were subject to caveats since they did not capture exactly the trade flows under both modes.  He drew  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Members' attention to the fact that  services exports from LDCs had doubl ed in the past six years.  In 
2006, services exports from LDCs amounted to US$12 billion, up from US$6 billion in 2000. 
39. He said that the scope of mode 4 under GATS wa s a matter of debate and discussion.  It was 
explained in the previous meeting that there was no data which covered exactly the trade flows under 
mode 4.  The same was true for mode 3, and even for other modes of supply under GATS.  Two 
sources of information were generally available to give an idea of flows under mode 4:  workers' 
remittances and compensation of employees.  Neither  of these categories were an exact match for 
trade taking place under mode 4 of GATS.  Both sources had their advantages and disadvantages.  
Compensation of employees captured payments that an individual received while working in a host country for less than one year.  These statistics would pose two basic problems in terms of reflecting 
trade through mode 4.  First, they covered indivi duals working in any sector of the economy - whether 
services or manufacturing sector.  Second, they only covered individuals working abroad for one year or less and might not fully reflect the "temporariness" of movements provided under commitment in mode 4.  "Temporariness" in the movement of na tural persons had not been defined in the GATS and 
it was up to Members to define the duration of stay under each category of persons covered by 
commitments.  He then explained that workers' remittances covered basical ly remittances made by 
individual(s) to their home country.  It was not an indication of what those individuals had been receiving for the services provided.  Those remittances could generate from working in any type of economic activity, not only services.  Despite these shortcomings, among others, both indicators could provide a picture of earnings of a country's nationals  working abroad.  He reiterated that there was no 
information available on bilateral services trade flow s.  There were some developing countries that 
had developed some mechanism to track bilatera l remittances flows, but the information was not 
usually available internationally.   
40. The representative of Lesotho
 expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for compiling 
statistical data and information on service sector reforms of all WTO LDC Members.  His delegation 
had made a detailed statement on this item at the previous session.  He said that services negotiations 
was an area where positive and definitive responses we re needed from LDCs' trading partners.  There 
was a great deal of potential in services trade.  In  this regard, the letter and spirit of Doha Round 
needed to be fulfilled.  The latest note had illustrated that  LDCs had undertaken autonomous 
liberalization, and that several Members were al ready enjoying the opportunities available in the 
LDCs.  The same response was expected from LDCs' trading partners so that LDCs could benefit from services trade.  He said that the LDCs woul d undertake a thorough examination of the latest note 
by the Secretariat on this item.   
41. The representative of Tanzania
  reiterated the point made by Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs, 
that LDCs had liberalized their services sector on an autonomous basis.  That liberalization, often 
undertaken under the structural adjustment progr ammes, should be taken note of in the current 
negotiations.  He said that his delegation had been  trying to comprehend the data presented in the 
note, and sought clarification from the Secretaria t concerning services data for his country.  Referring 
to Table 1 of the document JOB(O7)/32/Rev.1, he sai d that the percentage of transportation to the 
commercial services exports from his country was s hown as 10.2, which was different from the figure 
(17.1 per cent) indicated on page 58 of the documen t JOB(07)/148.  There had also been discrepancy 
in the data on other commercial services in these two notes prepared by the Secretariat.  He wished to 
know the cause for these variations in the data for his country.  He noted that the percentage of travel 
to the commercial services exports from his country was close (around 70 per cent) in both notes.   
42. The representative of Senegal  thanked the Secretariat for ha ving responded to the suggestions 
made by the LDCs at the last session to prepare trade information sheets (services) for all WTO LDC 
Members.  The document was of high quality, and needed  to be updated at regular intervals.  He noted 
that information provided in the note was sourced, inter alia , from recent TPRs.  In this regard, he 
suggested that the Secretariat provide the latest services trade data for LDCs whose TPRs were not WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 12  
 
  that recent.  He said that while efforts were being made by the LDCs to improve their participation in 
services trade, the percentage of services in total e xports of LDCs had been falling.  There had been a 
huge increase in exports of energy and mineral produc ts from LDCs in the last few years, while other 
merchandise exports and services exports from LDCs had been decreasing.  The situation was 
worsening for LDCs exporting agricultural products .  He emphasized the need for carrying out 
detailed analysis to investigate the downward tre nd of agricultural and manufacturing exports from 
the LDCs.  He stressed that efforts were require d by the international community to enhance the 
services exports from the LDCs. 
43. The representative of Benin
 expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for preparing 
information sheets on services trade flows from LDCs.  He made a suggestion that the Secretariat 
build on the note contained in JOB(07)/148 and develop a separate section outlining the obstacles 
faced by the LDCs in services trade.  He belie ved that the quality of the note could be further 
enhanced, if there were a section on difficulties e xperienced by the LDCs and measures that were 
required to improve LDCs' participation in services trade.  He would send both the notes under this 
item to his capital seeking additional information, wh ich the Secretariat could use to further improve 
the current note. 
44. The representative of Norwa y emphasized the importance of the obligation of Members to 
undertake commitments, to the extent possible, in such sectors and modes of supply that represented 
priority in LDCs' development policies.  Against that background, she welcomed the work undertaken 
by the Secretariat which was comprehensive.  She said that her delegation would examine the latest 
note by the Secretariat with a view to seeing how it might contribute to improving services offers to 
the LDCs.   Her delegation would be interested to hear the views of the LDCs in that regard.  
45. The representative of the European Communities  thanked the Secretariat for the work 
undertaken in compiling available statistical da ta concerning services trade flows, as well as 
information on service sector reforms in the LDCs.  Her delegation considered the trade information 
sheets a good starting point for the LDCs to identify their individual interests in services trade.  She 
suggested that a sharper focus could be given to th e export potential of LDCs in the area of trade in 
services, and the impact of services sector refo rms on the competitiveness of services sector as well as 
on the manufacturing industries in the LDCs.  She said that the EC had been providing targeted technical assistance to the LDCs, in particular on the assessment of trade in services and in analysing 
the implications of the GATS negotiations.  The data contained in the information sheets would 
compliment the outcome of the project from the EC  which could be used by the LDCs to further 
pursue their interests in the GATS negotiations.  Sh e noted the point made under the previous agenda 
item that there was a need for more information to be made available to the LDCs regarding the real 
market access conditions faced by them in their expo rt markets.  In that regard, she recalled the EC 
proposal of last year, co-sponsored by a number  of other WTO Members, to develop a reporting 
mechanism to assess the provision of special priority  to sectors and modes of supply of interest to 
LDCs in the services offers of non-LDC Members.  That proposal would provide a good basis to 
identify the market access conditions faced by th e LDCs, as well as help Members better respond to 
the interests of LDCs in the area of trade in services. 
46. The representative of Canada
 thanked the Secretariat for prep aring information sheets for all 
WTO LDC Members, in addition to the two examples circulated at the previous meeting held in 
June 2007.  He said that the work of the Secr etariat in compiling info rmation on service sector 
reforms and potential export interests in services fo r LDCs was a useful initiative.  The information 
sheets contained in the note could potentially provide  a good starting point for further analysis in this 
area which could be used by national governments of  LDCs in defining their market access priorities 
in the area of trade in services.  He would welcom e a full discussion on the information sheets.  He 
underlined the importance of a comprehensive asse ssment by individual LDC governments based on 
the information provided by the Secretariat.  Such an assessment would be beneficial in assisting LDC  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Members in identifying their priorities.  He said that  he had few questions for future discussions on 
this item, which included:  (i) were there any gaps  in those information sheets and how could they be 
further strengthened?  and (ii) what was required to help the LDCs to conduct further analysis so that 
they could better identify priorities in areas of inte rest to them?  He acknowledged the data limitations 
in the area of trade in services.  He would be looking forward to ideas on how to further improve the 
information sheets to help LDC governments identify key priorities in the negotiations. 
47. The representative of the Secretariat  responded to the questions ra ised by the delegations.  
With regard to the observation made by the represen tative of Tanzania, he said that an attempt had 
been made to include the most recent data in the late st note by the Secretariat.  The data provided in 
the earlier note (JOB(07)/32/Rev.1) was for the year 2005, and for most LDCs the data represented an 
estimate at that time.  The data had been further refined in the current version (JOB(07)/148) on the 
basis of additional information obtained by the Secret ariat.  He added that for the latest statistics on 
LDC trade in services, the latest Secretariat note s hould be consulted.  Concerning the question raised 
by the representatives of Canada and Senegal on th e update of the latest note, he said that the 
Secretariat had made use of all available interna tional sources.  He acknowledged that information for 
the LDCs that had undergone TPRs in recent years was more updated than those whose TPRs had 
been undertaken some years ago.  The informa tion obtained from the TPRs could nevertheless show 
certain trends in service sector reforms in the LDCs .  He pointed out that updating of the current note 
would depend on information from national sources, in particular on the identification of export 
markets of interest to the LDCs.  As per the availa ble information at the inte rnational level, data on 
bilateral trade flows on services for most WTO Members, including LDCs, was not available.  
Regarding the question raised by the representatives of Benin and the EC on whether the Secretariat 
could prepare another section on the difficulties faced by  the LDCs in services trade, he said that the 
Secretariat would be constrained to do so as a result of lack of available information.  He added that 
providing general recommendations to the LDCs or indeed to other Members on the basis of very 
limited information would not be appropriate.  He  informed Members that the TPRs had usually been 
covering only those sectors where most information was available, such as business or professional 
services.  Against that background, developi ng a section on difficulties and containing 
recommendations was beyond the capacity of the Secretariat. 
48. The representative of Benin  thanked the representative of the Secretariat for his response to 
the questions raised.  He underscored the importanc e of synergy between Geneva and the capitals so 
as to further build on the current note by the Secret ariat.  He recognized the difficulties involved in 
identifying the constraints faced by the LDCs in se rvices trade.  He said that the LDC capitals could 
look at the statistics contained in the Secretariat not es and could provide the Secretariat with possible 
supplementary information to further improve it.  The LDC capitals could also indicate technical 
assistance needs to improve the participation of LDCs  in services trade.  That way, the Secretariat 
notes could be more comprehensive, and would prov ide a better picture of individual LDC's situation 
in services trade. 
49. The representative of Rwanda  said that it was important to explore ideas on how to help 
LDCs identify the constraints in the area of trade in services.  It was important for the LDCs to 
develop their capacity to participate more in trade in services.  He said that statistics had shown that 
services trade had been growing fast and had been contributing to the economic development of many 
countries.  He understood the limitations of the Se cretariat in making recommendations for the LDCs, 
with limited availability of data.  He emphasized the need to find complementarities between the 
WTO and other institutions like the Internationa l Trade Centre (ITC) and UNCTAD, to gather 
comprehensive information in the area of trade in se rvices.  He thanked the delegation of the US for 
providing funds to the ITC to carry out an assessme nt study in the area of trade in services in a 
number of LDCs, including his country.  This work  was interesting as it had assessed different service 
sectors, including the financial, telecommunications, construction and transport sectors with a view to 
analyzing the legal constraints in these sectors.  Th e assessment work also explored:  (i) whether the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 14  
 
  domestic regulations had been a hindrance in allowing the private sector to develop certain services;  
(ii) whether there had been any barriers in developing  public-private partnership;  and (iii) whether the 
lack of development of services was due to the ab sence of appropriate technology.  He informed 
Members that the study by the ITC would be completed by the end of November 2007.  He encouraged the LDCs that had not yet done so, to ta ke advantage of the expertise of ITC in the area of 
trade in services.  In conclusion, he emphasized the need for developing productive capacity in the 
LDCs, including building their technological base.  An efficient service sector could also contribute to the development of agriculture in LDCs from which the majority of people earn their livelihoods.  He 
hoped that the Sub-Committee would play a role in identifying the appropriate strategies for LDCs to 
accelerate their economic development. 
50. The Chairman
 thanked Members for their remarks.  He said that both the notes under this 
item had contained useful information in the area of  trade in services in LDCs.  He encouraged all 
LDCs and other Members to have a close look at th e information and statistic s provided in the notes.  
He said that LDCs' trade in servi ces had been increasing, although exports of oil had been growing 
faster.  Services were a dominant part of the expor t structure for a number of LDCs.  He hoped that 
the DDA negotiations would provide enhanced opportuniti es for LDCs in the area of trade in services.  
He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the Secretariat's document contained in 
JOB(07)/148, as well as of the statements made.  Th e item would be kept on the agenda for the next 
meeting of the Sub-Committee.   
51. It was so decided . 
(ii) Accession of Least-Developed Countries 
- State of Play in the Accession Working Parties of the Least-Developed Countries 
(JOB(07)/147) 
 
52. The Chairman  recalled that the accession of LDCs was an important element of the WTO 
Work Programme for the LDCs.  In order to fac ilitate discussion on this item, the Secretariat had 
prepared a document contained in JOB(07)/147 which provided a state of play in the accession 
Working Parties of the LDCs.  He invited the Secretariat to introduce its note.   
53. The representative of the Secretariat  said that since the establishment of the WTO, two LDCs 
had acceded to the Organization, namely Cambodi a and Nepal.  The General Council had recently 
established the Working Party on the Accession of Como ros.  Eleven LDCs were at various stages of 
their accession process.  He said that LDCs access ion was an important part of the work of the 
Accession Division of the Secretariat.  He informed Members that requests for accession had been 
submitted by Equatorial Guinea and Liberia, and th at decisions on their requests would be taken by 
the General Council in due course. 
54. He went on to say that efforts had been focussed on accelerating and facilitating LDCs' 
accession negotiations.  Work on the accession of LDCs  was going on in line with the mandate in the 
Doha Declaration (paragraphs 9 and 42), the WTO Work Programme for the LDCs, the LDC 
accession guidelines adopted in 2002, and in line with  the Ministerial Declaration (paragraphs 47 
and 59) adopted at the Hong Ko ng Ministerial Conference in 2005.  The LDC accession guidelines 
were a turning point in the efforts to facilitate  the LDC accession negotiations.  These guidelines had 
helped to activate several LDC accession negotiations that were at the initial stages, which included 
Bhutan, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Samoa and Yemen.  The note, which was an update of that 
presented to the Sub-Committee in October 2006, hi ghlighted the recent developments in the LDC 
accessions and included some information on technical assistance provided to the acceding LDCs.  Since October 2006, a number of Working Party m eetings had been held.  These included those for 
Bhutan (October 2006), Lao PDR (November 2006)  and Cape Verde (June 2007).  A number of  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Working Party meetings of LDCs had been scheduled in the coming weeks and months,  including the 
Working Party on Cape Verde to be held on 26 Oct ober 2007.  Meetings of the Working Parties on 
Yemen and Lao PDR were scheduled  for 2 and 15 November 2007, respectively.  He said that 
bilateral market access negotiations of acceding LDCs had also advanced on the basis of submissions of acceding LDCs, and that revised offers had be en submitted by Bhutan, Cape Verde, Sudan and 
Yemen over the course of last year.  Some of the bilateral negotiations had been completed.  For 
instance, Brazil had concluded its ne gotiations with Cape Verde.  Ch ina had concluded its bilaterals 
with Samoa, Sudan and Yemen.  Work had also advanced on the multilateral front on the basis of 
submissions provided by the acceding LDCs, the wo rking party reports and the factual summaries 
prepared by the Secretariat.   
55. He underlined the importance of technical assist ance and capacity building at all stages of the 
accession process.  In that regard, assistance had b een provided to the acceding LDCs on a priority 
basis under the WTO's Technical Assistance Plan.  He reiterated that both the LDC Members, as well 
as acceding LDCs, were entitled to three national ac tivities per year, and in addition to the regular 
training provided through the trade policy courses,  regional and sub-regional training courses and 
other activities such as reference centres.  Apar t from the WTO Secretariat, Members and other 
organizations had been providing assistance to the acceding LDCs.  He emphasized the need for 
focused technical assistance with ownership and direction by the acceding governments.  In conclusion, he said that a number of acceding LDCs were also beneficiaries of the Integrated Framework (IF), namely Cape Verde, Comoros, Et hiopia, Lao PDR, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, 
Vanuatu and Yemen.  He sa id that Afghanistan had applied to join  the IF, and that its technical review 
- the first process under the IF - was underway.  
56. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation for including 
the item on the agenda of the meeting.  The report by the Secretariat showed the different stages of 
LDC accessions.  It also indicated the efforts bei ng made to facilitate the accession of LDCs to the 
WTO.  He thanked Members of the respective Working Parties, the WTO Secretariat and all other 
agencies which had been providing  support to the acceding LDCs. 
57. He said that the note had shown that the ac cession of some LDCs had been initiated over a 
decade ago, and to this date the processes had s till not been completed.  For some acceding LDCs, 
working parties were established years ago, but had ne ver met.  This situation was not encouraging.  
He urged the Chairman to use his good offices to fo llow-up, consult and persuade chairpersons of 
different working parties to ensure progress in the accession of LDCs.  He noted that some working 
party meetings had been scheduled in the months  of October and November 2007, and hoped that 
some positive results would be reported at the next meetings of the Sub-Committee, as well as of the 
General Council. 
58. He continued by saying that accession had not only allowed countries to be Members of the 
WTO but also enabled them to participate in th e multilateral trading system.  To those which had 
aspired to become WTO Members, finalization of  the accession process was crucial.  He said that 
only two LDCs had successfully acceded to the WTO since its establishment, implying that 18 LDCs 
were still outside the WTO.  These statistics we re not encouraging as there were seven active 
accessions and four at an initial stage.  He recalle d that WTO Members had committed to facilitate the 
accession of LDCs to the WTO.  The acceding LDCs were awaiting their entitlements to the rights 
and privileges of the multilateral trading system.  The sooner the acceding LDCs joined the WTO the 
better it would be for them to deri ve the benefits of global trade. 
59. He called upon Members to adhere to the WTO's General Council decision on the LDC 
accession guidelines adopted in December 2002.  Thr ough those guidelines, Members were asked to 
exercise restraint in seeking commitments from the LDCs .  After five years of that landmark decision, 
many LDCs were still struggling with their accession pro cesses.  It was time to revisit that decision, to WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 16  
 
  assess its implementation and to make it truly opera tional, so as to enable the acceding LDCs to 
integrate smoothly into the multilateral trading system.  He called for a special report on LDCs' accession to the WTO, with a view to examining th e difficulties faced by the currently acceding LDCs 
and to explore ways and means to operationa lize the accession guidelines and to facilitate and 
accelerate LDCs' accession to the WTO.  He hoped th at the WTO would become truly universal and 
would not remain an exclusive club. 
60. The representative of Yemen
 associated himself with the st atement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  He said that one third of LD Cs were still outside of the WTO.  He regretted the 
fact that the accession guidelines for LDCs did not liv e up to their letter and spirit.  The current state 
of play in LDCs' accessions also undermined the spirit of the Doha Ministerial Declaration where 
Ministers had committed to facilitate and accelerate the accession of LDCs.  Therefore, as called for 
by the LDC Coordinator, a review of the accession guidelines had become necessary with a view to operationalizing fully the provisions contained ther ein.  Practical suggestions were required to 
operationalize those accession guidelines.  In this re gard, analytical work could be undertaken by 
competent organizations such as UNCTAD.  He said that the WTO Membership was only a first step 
towards participating in the multilateral trading syst em and to integrating into the global economy.  
He expressed frustration over the prolonged na ture of the accession negotiations.  The accession 
process was also complicated and, therefore, contradi ctory to the mandate given by Ministers at Doha 
in 2001.  He acknowledged the s upport and technical assistance provided by the WTO Secretariat, in 
particular the Accession Division, in the accession process of his country which began in 2000. 
61. The representative of Bhutan
 expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for its note.  He 
associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho,  on behalf of the LDCs.  He said that since the 
establishment of the Working Party on the Accession of Bhutan in 1999, the Working Party had held 
three meetings.  The last meeting of the Workin g Party was held in October 2006.  Bilateral 
discussions were also held with interested Members in June 2007, with a view to facilitating a fruitful 
outcome of the next Working Party meeting scheduled before the end of the year.  He mentioned that 
as a result of the good understandings of the Working Party members, Bhutan had been able to 
achieve some progress in its accession negotiatio ns.  That progress, however, had come after 
five years of negotiations.  There were still crucial issues that needed to be resolved.  He urged the 
Working Party members to fully implement the LD C accession guidelines.  In conclusion, he thanked 
the WTO Secretariat, particularly  the Accession Division, for its support and cooperation.  He also 
thanked other organizations, partic ularly UNCTAD, for their assistance to the accession process of his 
country to the WTO. 
62. The representative of Rwanda  associated himself with the st atement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  His concern was that if acceding LDCs were asked to undertake cumbersome commitments, it would not augur well for the next round of WTO negotiations.  He said that it would 
be useful to know the average bound tariffs to which the acceding LDCs had committed themselves to 
through the accession negotiations.  He would expect that the average bound tariffs committed by 
some acceding LDCs, which were at an advanced stage, could be found in their draft schedule of 
commitments.  He queried whether the flexib ilities accorded to the WTO LDC Members such as 
under the TRIPS Agreement  were recognized by Members in the negotiations with acceding LDCs.  
He said that the results of the accession negotiations  would determine the flexibility of the currently 
acceding LDCs in the next round of negotiations.  If the acceding LDCs were subjected to undertake 
commitments beyond those undertaken by the developing countries in the Uruguay Round of 
negotiations, they would have to pay a mu ch higher price in future negotiations. 
63. The representative of Afghanistan
 said that his Government had applied to join the IF in 
July 2005.  Thereafter, a preliminary technical review was carried out by the World Bank in 2006 and a second technical review was carried out in the sam e year.  He asked when his country would be  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
 Page 17 
 
 
  considered eligible for the IF and what was the timeframe within which the IF management would 
decide on the application of Afghanistan.  
64. The representative of the Secretariat  responded to the questions raised.  He said that every 
accession negotiation was unique and case specific, notwithstanding the accession guidelines for LDCs.  He pointed out that Cambodia and Nepal - both being LDCs -  did not undertake uniform 
commitments while acceding to the WTO and that, as a result, there were significant differences in 
market access commitments undertak en by Cambodia and Nepal.  He said that it would be difficult to 
talk about market access commitments undertaken by  the currently acceding LDCs as their accession 
process had not reached that stage.  With regard to flexibilities applicable to the acceding LDCs, he 
said that in addition to the current flexibiliti es provided in the WTO agreements, additional 
flexibilities were sought by the acceding LDCs in th e implementation of WTO agreements such as the 
Customs Valuation Agreement, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures, and the Agreement on the Technical Barriers to Trade.   Transition periods were also 
granted to acceding countries on a case-by-case basi s and based on an Action Plan submitted by 
acceding countries.  He said that the adoption of the LDC accession guidelines was a land mark 
decision and a turning point in efforts to facilitate the accession of LDCs to the WTO.  The guidelines 
had facilitated the accession of Cambodia and Nepal to  the WTO - the first two LDCs to accede under 
Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO.   He stressed that the pace of accession 
negotiations was determined, to a large extent, by the acceding LDCs themselves.  He said that the 
preparation of basic documentation for the working party meetings and the domestic work required on 
legislative reforms to bring rules and disciplines in conformity with WTO disciplines would vary 
among the acceding countries.  In conclusion, he und erlined the importance of the implementation of 
the LDC accession guidelines. 
65. The Chairman
 recalled that both the Doha as well as the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarations 
had stressed the importance of facilitating and acceler ating the negotiations with acceding LDCs.  One 
third of acceding countries in the WTO were from th e LDCs.  He urged Members to intensify their 
efforts to conclude the ongoing LDC accession negotiations as early as possible, which would 
contribute to further strengthening the multilateral tr ading system.  He underlined the importance of 
adequate technical assistance to the acceding LDCs.  It was important that Members adhere to the LDC accession guidelines adopted in December 2002,  as contained in document WT/L/508.  He said 
that he would be available to extend any assistan ce to advance the accession negotiations of LDCs.  
He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the document prepared by the Secretariat as well as 
of the statements made. 
66. It was so agreed
. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
67. The Chairman  invited the Chair of the EIF Interim Board to provide the Sub-Committee with 
a status report on the EIF. 
68. The representative of Lesotho  said that he was making the statement as the Chair of the EIF 
Interim Board.  He said that good progress was being made to implement the EIF.  An EIF Pledging Conference was held in Stockholm (Sweden) on 25 September 2007.  Thirty-four countries were 
represented at that event along with development agencies, including five LDCs.  He said that 
US$108 million had been pledged for the first two year s of operation of the EIF and that more pledges 
would be forthcoming in due course.  He thanke d the Government of Sweden for organizing and 
coordinating the Pledging Conference and expressed gratitude to Canada and the United Kingdom for 
their collaboration with Sweden in making the ev ent successful.  He also thanked those who had 
pledged generously for the EIF. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/48 
Page 18  
 
  69. He went on to say that the accountability framework for the EIF Trust Fund was about to be 
finalized.  Following the completion of this wo rk, the Board members would concentrate on the 
monitoring and evaluation system.  He said that se quencing of work was necessary to ensure timely 
progress in different elements of implementing the EIF.  The recruitment process of the Executive 
Director had begun.  He added that once the a ccountability framework for the Trust Fund Manager 
was ready, selection of the Trust Fund Manager woul d commence.  He concluded by saying that the 
Board was committed to making the EIF operational at the earliest. 
70. The Chairman
 thanked the representative of Lesotho for his statement.  He proposed that the 
Sub-Committee take note of the statement.   
71. It was so agreed . 
72. He informed Members that the next meeting of  the Sub-Committee was scheduled for the first 
quarter of next year.  The exact date would be communicated in due course. 
73. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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