WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/64 
6 March 2012  
 
(12-1270) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Sixty-Fourth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 20 JANUARY 2012 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Steffen Smidt (Denmark) 
  
A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ......................................................................................................... 1  
B.  ACCESSION OF LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (WT/L/846) ........................................................ 1  
C.  OTHER BUSINESS  ......................................................................................................................... 4  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Sub-Committee adopted the agenda, contained in WTO/AIR/3876. 
B. ACCESSION OF LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (WT/L/846) 
2. The Chairman recalled the Ministerial Decision on LDC accession contained in WT/L/846, 
which instructed the Sub-Committee to develop recommendations to further strengthen the LDC 
accession guidelines adopted in 2002.  Accordingl y, he had convened the meeting to initiate 
discussion on how to proceed to fulfil the Minist erial mandate.  He proposed that informal 
consultations, under the aegis of the Sub-Committee, be  convened at the earliest to complete the task 
beforehand within the stipulated dead line, i.e. by July 2012.  He intended to hold periodic informal 
consultations in small-group format starting in the following week.  The composition of the small-
group format would follow the one established fo r the 2011 consultations.  In addition, such 
consultations would remain open-ended.  He said that any delegatio n interested in participating in the 
informal consultations, should inform the Secretar iat as soon as possible.  He would make periodic 
reports to the formal meeting of the Sub-Committ ee to keep the whole Me mbership informed of 
developments.  He informed Members that the next formal meeting of the Sub-Committee was 
scheduled for April 2012. 
3. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs, welcomed the Ministerial Decision 
on LDC accession adopted in December 2011.  He sa id that the acceding LDCs considered the 
Decision to be significant for their accession process.  He recalled that due to time-constraints, Members had not been able to address in detail all the issues highlighted in the LDC proposal 
submitted in 2011 (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/52).  As a resu lt, the Ministerial Decision gave some broad 
directions, which needed to be elaborated by th e Sub-Committee within the specified time-frame.   
4. He went on to request the Chairman to c onvene his informal consultations as soon as 
possible.  He took note of the fact that these consu ltations would be open-ende d in nature.  He also 
requested that acceding LDCs be included in such  consultations.  In this regard, he asked the 
Secretariat to look into the procedures followed during the negotiations of the accession guidelines in 
2002.  That would provide some precedent for the involvement of acceding LDCs in the work to be 
carried out by the Sub-Committee in the coming weeks.   WT/COMTD/LDC/M/64 
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5. He stressed that the LDC proposal submitted in 2011 should continue to remain a reference 
point for further discussions by Members for strengthening the 2002 guidelines.  That submission contained specific proposals relating to all elements  of the Ministerial Decision:  benchmarks for 
market access negotiations on goods and services;  multilateral frameworks to complement bilateral 
market access negotiations;  and appropriate m echanism for coordinating technical assistance to 
acceding LDCs.  The LDCs remained open and flexible  to consider any constructive proposal made 
by Members in relation to the various aspects of the Accession Decision.   
6. He hoped that Members would be able to draw up an outcome which could serve the interests 
of acceding LDCs in a meaningful manner.  He st ressed that the outcome should not be undermined 
by any extraneous considerations.  He added that the technical work could only see a result if it were 
accompanied by a strong political will.  In this rega rd, he recalled the high-level political support that 
LDC accessions had received during the Eighth Session of the Ministerial Conference (MC8).  He 
supported the process outlined by the Chairman, mainly to take forward the work on accessions 
through informal consultations.  He underlined the n eed to complete the task by the agreed deadline, 
i.e. July 2012.  He requested that an interim progr ess report be submitted to the formal meeting of the 
Sub-Committee, scheduled for April 2012.   
7. The representative of the United States reiterate d the support of her delegation to ensure a 
productive outcome on LDC accessions which was suppor tive to the principles of the WTO.  She was 
also of the view that the WTO accession process, in particular the implementation of WTO provisions, as well as the negotiations of market access commitments, prepared the applicants for 
their effective participation in the WTO, in cluding building their trade capacity.  The trade 
liberalization and improved trade structure that resulted from the accession negotiations had proven to 
be significant in enhancing the investment enviro nment of the acceding countries.  Therefore, the 
WTO accession process had served both as a capacity -building exercise for an acceding country, as 
well as a tool for accelerating its development.  Sh e pointed out that the recent accessions of LDCs 
had confirmed these benefits, as had been recognize d by the delegation of Vanuatu at the Working 
Party meeting on its accession held recently.   
8. She reiterated the commitment of her delegation to  work constructively to further strengthen, 
streamline and operationalize the 2002 accession guidelin es.  She also supported the process outlined 
by the Chairman in advancing the work through info rmal consultations.  In this regard, she underlined 
the need for ensuring transparency  to the wider Membership.  Her delegation, however, was of the 
view that it would not be appropriate for Observers  to participate in informal meetings, since the 
purpose of such informals was to  allow a discussion among Members only.  The participation of 
acceding LDCs in the LDC Group, as well as in the formal meetings of the Sub-Committee, would 
allow them to present their views on the work being undertaken. 
9. The representative of the European Union cons idered the MC8 Decision on LDC accession as 
a major step forward in supporting the accession of LD Cs to the WTO.  She said that it was the duty 
of Members to devise necessary tools to further facilitate and accelerate the accession of LDCs.  The recent LDC accessions had demonstrated the usefuln ess of the 2002 guidelines.  At the same time, she 
recognized the need for some improvements in th e existing guidelines.  The guidelines adopted in 
2002 should serve as a foundation, as Members sought to further strengthening those guidelines.  Her 
delegation was ready to take part constructively in  the forthcoming consultations on all elements of 
the MC8 Decision on LDC accession, and was also committed to developing recommendations by the 
July 2012 deadline.  In conclusion, she undersco red the importance of necessary reforms by the 
acceding LDCs, taking into account their specific n eeds, which could strengthen their development 
prospects and would augur well for their accession process. 
10. The representative of China thanked the Chairman for his able leadership which had led to the 
adoption of a Decision on LDC accession at MC8.  He hoped that the spirit and vigour that had been 
shown by Members last year would continue in 2012 so as to complete the work ahead in the 
Sub-Committee.  The momentum created on LDC acces sions in 2011 should be maintained so that  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/64 
 Page 3 
 
 
  there could be a fruitful outcome by July 2012.  He  underlined the need for close examination of all 
the elements contained in the MC8 Decision on LDC accession.  In this regard, he emphasized the 
importance of some technical work, including by the Secretariat, on the issue of benchmarking in the 
context of market access commitments in goods and services.  He believed that a compilation of information on the level of commitments undertak en by existing WTO LDC Members could help 
draw up appropriate benchmarks fo r acceding LDCs.  His delegation was ready to participate in the 
informal consultations, and would seek to make c oncrete proposals with a view to achieving an 
outcome for LDC accessions. 
11. The representative of Australia said that his delegation was pleased with the outcome 
achieved at MC8 on LDC accessions.  He was en couraged by the goodwill and positive spirit shown 
by Members to take the remaining work to a succe ssful conclusion by July 2012.  He said that the 
accession of LDCs had been an area of priority fo r Australia.  He urged Members to build on the 
high-level political support that the LDC accessions had received during MC8.   
12. He went on to say that his delegation had been  closely involved with the accessions of Samoa 
and Vanuatu, which had allowed Australia to compre hend some genuine problems faced by the LDCs 
in their accession processes.  Therefore, the 2002 guidelines, which remained relevant for LDC 
accessions, would require further improvement.  He noted that the consultations held in 2011 had 
benefitted from high-level attention of Members, including the participation of a good number of 
Ambassadors.  He hoped that the same level of a ttention would be maintained in the forthcoming 
consultations.  He also requested Members to re flect on ways to involve the acceding LDCs in the 
work being undertaken by the Sub-Committee.  In  conclusion, he reiterated the commitment of 
Australia to achieving the goal set by Ministers at MC8. 
13. The representative of Hong Kong, China expressed  his support to the process outlined by the 
Chairman.  He hoped that the guidance given by  Ministers through the LDC accession Decision at 
MC8 would lead to a meaningful outcome.  With the imminent accessions of Samoa and Vanuatu, ten LDCs were still at various stages of their acce ssion process in the WTO.  Members should attach 
priority to allow these acceding LDCs to join the WTO at the earliest.  His delegation would 
constructively engage in the coming days with  a view to making further improvements on the 
guidelines, including the development of benchmarks for market access commitments by acceding LDCs.  He noted that the next formal meeting of  the Sub-Committee was scheduled for April 2012.  
He felt that the involvement of wider Membership  prior to that meeting could prove useful in 
expediting the work that would begin shortly.   
14. The representative of Japan welcomed the MC8 Decision on LDC accession.  He reiterated 
the commitment of Japan to work  towards the early accession of LDCs to the WTO.  His delegation 
would constructively engage in the work ahead to further facilitate the LDC accessions.  He noted that 
the 2002 guidelines continued to provide the b asic foundations for the LDC accession process.  He 
stressed that any proposal to further strengthe n those guidelines should be practical, feasible and 
operational.  His delegation would be ready to discu ss such proposals on their merit.  He agreed with 
the work plan outlined by the Chairman, and under scored the importance of discussing all elements of 
the MC8 Decision in parallel.   
15. The representative of Turkey agreed  with the work plan outlined by  the Chairman to fulfil the 
mandate of Ministers on LDC accessions.  The political support received by Ministers at MC8 on 
LDC accessions was significant for the remaining work  i n  2 0 1 2 .   H e  a l s o  w i s h e d  t o  b u i l d  o n  t h e  
momentum created by the conclusion of the acce ssion negotiations of Samoa and Vanuatu.  He 
expressed the interest of his delegation to take part in the informal consultations to be convened by the 
Chairman. 
16. The representative of Yemen, speaking as focal point in the LDC Group on accession, 
associated himself with the statement made by Ba ngladesh, on behalf of the LDCs.  He thanked the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/64 
Page 4  
 
Chairman for convening the meeting early in the year , as it reflected the priority given by Members to 
LDC accessions.  He noted that 2011 had been a good year for accession, when four countries, 
including two LDCs, had concluded their resp ective accession negotiations.  He hoped that 2012 
would be as good as 2011 in realizing a greater number of accessions to the WTO.   
17. He said that the MC8 Decision on LDC accession was an affirmative step to expedite the 
accession of LDCs to the WTO.  Despite the con tinued significance of the 2002 guidelines which had 
become a decade old, a large number of LDCs rema ined outside the WTO family.  He welcomed the 
Ministerial Decision, including the key elements contained therein:  the establishment of benchmarks 
for goods and services in the context of market access commitments;  consideration of additional 
transitional periods;  and enhanced technical assistance for acceding LDCs.  He hoped that the 
completion of work on LDC accessions would re vitalize the LDC accessions and would further 
facilitate the accession process of LDCs.  He  underlined the importance of submitting 
recommendations to the General Counc il no later than July 2012.   
18. He looked forward to the work in the Sub-Co mmittee to further strengthen, streamline and 
operationalize the 2002 guidelines.  He appealed to Me mbers to consider the participation of acceding 
LDCs, as Observers, in the deliberations under the aegis of the Sub-Committee.  He noted that the 
formal meeting of the Sub-Committee, scheduled fo r April 2012, would take stock of the progress of 
the work being launched next week.   
19. In conclusion, he expressed appreciation to the Chairman for his leadership, as well as efforts 
made by Members, which had made possible th e MC8 Decision on LDC accession.  He sought 
continued commitment and engagement from Members to conclude the remaining work within the 
specified time-frame, i.e. July 2012, which coul d result in fruitful results for LDC accessions.   
20. The Chairman thanked Members for their contri butions.  As regards the participation of 
acceding LDCs in the informal consultations, he wa s of the view that negotiations on the terms and 
conditions of entry of new parties to the WTO,  including LDCs, were essentially negotiations 
between the existing parties and hence such deliber ations were outside the purview of the observer 
governments;  however, he asked the Secretariat to  check whether the position he had taken was valid, 
as per the rules and procedures of the WTO, and al so to check whether the acceding LDCs had taken 
part in the negotiations of the 2002 guidelines.  In any case, he would keep acceding LDCs informed 
of developments. 
21. He proposed that the Sub-Committee agree to th e proposed process and work plan outlined by 
him at the beginning of the meeting, mainly to advance the work on LDC ac cessions through informal 
consultations based on the MC8 Decision on LDC accessi on.  He would begin his consultations in the 
following week.  He also proposed that the Sub-Co mmittee take note of the statements made.   
22. It was so agreed. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
23. The Chairman invited Members' attention to the next formal meeting of the Sub-Committee 
scheduled for April 2012.  At that meeting, he intend ed to revert to the discussion on an update of the 
WTO Work Programme for the LDCs, which had been adopted in 2002.  He recalled that a first round 
of discussion on a possible update of that Work Programme had been held in the October 2011 
meeting of the Sub-Committee.  He requested Memb ers wishing to include any item on the agenda to 
inform him as soon as possible.   
24. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned. 
 
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