RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
16 October 2007 
 
 (07-4442) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Forty-Seventh Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 28 JUNE 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  
- Notification by Japan (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.14) ......................................................................1  
- Market Access Issues for LDCs in the Area of Trade in Services (JOB(07)/32/Rev.1) ..............4  
(ii) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for Least-
Developed Countries) ........................................................................................................... ....10  
- Overview of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/40).........................................................................................................10  
- Implementation of the Enhanced Integrat ed Framework (EIF):  Progress Report..................17  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................20  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Sub-Committee adopted  the draft agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/3032.   
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)  trade-related 
technical assistance and capacity -building initiatives for LDCs. 
(i) Market Access for Least-Developed Countries  
- Notification by Japan (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.14) 3. The Chairman
 recalled that Japan had recently amended its Generalized System of 
Preferences (GSP) scheme for LDCs allowing e nhanced duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market 
access to the LDCs.  This measure was notified to the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) 
on 12 April 2007.  Following the established procedure, the CTD at its 63rd Session had agreed to 
forward the notification for substantive considera tion by the Sub-Committee.  He reminded Members 
that the delegation of Japan had introduced its notification at the 63rd Session of the CTD.  To WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
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  facilitate consideration of the item in the Sub-Co mmittee, he invited the representative of Japan to 
briefly introduce its notification. 
4. The representative of Japan
 said that his delegation had made  a presentation on its notification 
at the 63rd Session of the CTD.  He, therefore, would not make a detailed presentation at the present 
meeting.  He said that the notification (WT/COMT D/N/2/Add.14) was circulated on 12 April 2007.  
His Government was fully committed to the Decision adopted by the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference in 2005 to provide DFQF market acces s to the LDCs, and had gone through the necessary 
domestic procedures in order to expand DFQF mark et access to the LDCs.  Following approval of the 
amended legislation by the Japanese Parliament (Die t), the new GSP for LDCs came into effect on 
1 April 2007.  Prior to the official announcement of the new measure taken by his Government, his 
delegation in Geneva had met with the LDCs to explain the initiative.  As a result of the expansion of 
the coverage of products under the GSP for LDCs, 1,101 products had b een added to the list of items 
for DFQF access to the LDCs.  The DFQF tariff lines had increased significantly from 86 per cent to 
98 per cent, defined at the tariff line level, and over 99 per cent in terms of import value.  He believed 
that the enhanced DFQF market access to the LDCs, along with ex tensive development assistance, 
was one of the important measures taken by his Govern ment to facilitate the integration of LDCs into 
the multilateral trading system.  He hoped that ot her WTO Members, including developing country 
Members declaring themselves in a position to do  so, would take similar initiatives to swiftly 
implement measures to fulfil the commitments expressed  in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.   
5. The representative of Lesotho , on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation to the 
Government of Japan for providing enhanced DFQF  market access to the LDCs, which came into 
effect on 1 April 2007.  The expansion of pr oduct coverage under the GSP for LDCs was 
commendable.  He looked forward to the phasing in of the remaining product lines which would 
enable 100 per cent coverage of DF QF market access for products or iginating from LDCs, before the 
end of the implementation period of  the Doha Round of negotiations.  He said that simplified and 
transparent rules of origin were complementary to any enhanced market access initiative under GSP 
framework.  He invited the Government of Japan to give due consideration to this important 
accompanying element of market access which, if i gnored, would negate the spirit and actual effect of 
a market access scheme.  In conclusion, he calle d upon other developed country Members, as well as 
developing country Members declaring themselves in a position to do so, to follow the example set by 
the Government of Japan in implementing the DF QF market access decision taken by WTO Members 
in 2005.  
6. The representative of Bangladesh  associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  He expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for providing enhanced 
DFQF market access to products originating from LDCs.  The comprehensiveness of the initiative 
was commendable.  His delegation was happy to note  that the DFQF coverage of tariff lines had gone 
up from 86 to 98 per cent.  He noted that the Gove rnment of Japan had been gradually expanding the 
coverage of its DFQF access to LDC products sin ce early 2000.  The percentage of products under 
DFQF access in the total import value had been over 90 per cent since 2003.   
7. He continued by saying that the Government of Japan deserved special appreciation on two 
counts.  First, it had decided to implement th e DFQF market access d ecision of the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference independent of the results of  the Round.  This was the commitment that the 
former Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa  had made to the LDC Group at the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference.  The Government of Ja pan had delivered on its commitment and in this 
context, he conveyed his special thanks to former  Minister Nakagawa.  Second, he appreciated the 
efforts of the Japanese Government in giving eff ect to its new GSP scheme for LDCs promptly and 
effectively.  Both reflected a genuine desire and full commitment by the Japanese Government to help 
LDCs increase trade.  The decision taken by the Japanese authorities also demonstrated its 
commitment to the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarat ion.  He hoped that the measures taken by the  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
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  Japanese Government would encourage other Memb ers to make further improvements in their 
preferential scheme for the LDCs.  Meaningful in tegration of LDCs into the multilateral trading 
system would require efforts by all WTO Members.   
8. He said that his authorities were examining the new GSP scheme for the LDCs.  Since his 
delegation was still awaiting detailed comments fr om the authorities, he made few preliminary 
remarks and sought some additional information on th e scheme.  First, he hoped that the enlarged 
GSP for LDCs would be effective for a longer peri od.  There would be a gestation period before 
supply capacity in the LDCs was developed, and expor ters needed time to find  their niche markets.  
Immediate expansion of LDC exports to Japan might  not happen, except for selected product lines.  
Second, the notification from Japan did not provide information on rules of origin applicable for 
imports from LDCs.  The rules of origin, in th e normal Japanese GSP scheme, had been product 
specific and had varied across all textile and clothi ng products.  He hoped that the Japanese authorities 
would devote attention to this subject, in order to translate their good intentions of increasing LDC 
exports to Japan into reality.  Third, he recalled that the former Agriculture Minister had handed over 
a list of 176 tariff-line items that would not be op ened up for duty-free access from the LDCs.  It was 
his understanding that the Japanese authorities had gone  further and that some items of that list had 
received DFQF access under the new GSP scheme for th e LDCs.  He pointed out that the export base 
of LDCs was very narrow and that the share of LDCs  in total imports of Japan from the world was the 
bare minimum, close to 0.20 per cent.  Therefore,  he believed that 100 per cent coverage of DFQF 
access to all LDC exports to Japan would not be diffi cult for the Government of Japan to implement.  
He urged the Japanese authorities to  work towards a 100 per cent DFQF coverage for LDC exports as 
soon as possible.  In conclusion, he said that the offers that the Japanese Government had made prior 
to Hong Kong on Aid for Trade, could help LDCs  create supply capacity and find markets for LDC 
products.  Japan was also contributing to building infrastructure for trade in a large number of LDCs, through its extensive development-assistance progra mme.  This demonstrated the commitment of the 
Government of Japan to helping LDCs.  He looked forward to greater engagement in trade of LDCs 
with Japan.   
9. The representative of the Solomon Islands
 associated himself with the statement made by the 
representative of Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He reiterated that the DFQF market access to LDC 
products to the markets of deve loped and developing countries coul d go a long way in lifting millions 
of people out of poverty.  It would also speed up th e integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading 
system.  His delegation welcomed the decision take n by the Government of Japan to increase the 
coverage of products that would en ter its market duty free and quota fr ee.  He looked forward to other 
countries doing the same.  He hoped that the DFQF product coverage would reach 100 per cent before 
the end of the implementation period of the Doha  Round of negotiations.  He also hoped that the 
DFQF coverage would include fish and fish products  such as tuna loins, a product his country and 
other LDCs in the Pacific Islands had in abunda nce, but which had been excluded from the current 
coverage.  Finally, he underlined the importance of simplified rules of origin, as well as technical 
assistance in assisting LDCs to cope with the sanita ry and phytosanitary requirements for entry of 
LDC products into the Japanese market.   
10. The representative of Japan  responded to the comments and ques tions posed to his delegation.  
He said that the notification by Japan had r esponded to the decision taken at the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference.  It had been implemented independent of the DDA negotiations.  Some items 
were not included in the DFQF coverage which, inter alia , included some agricultural and leather 
items due to domestic sensitivity.  He urged the LDCs to understand the limitations of his 
Government in allowing full DFQF market access to  the LDCs.  As regards rules of origin, his 
authorities had already implemented rules of origin to the benefit of LDCs.  In this regard, his 
delegation took note of the proposals made by the LDCs in the negotiations, and would remain in 
touch with the LDCs to discuss the issue in due course.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
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  11. The Chairman
 thanked the representative of Japan fo r his statement and for replying to the 
questions raised.  He said that the LDCs and ot her Members should contact the delegation of Japan 
should they require further clarification or additi onal information on the initiative taken by Japan in 
favour of LDCs.  He congratulated the Governme nt of Japan for its commendable initiative.  The 
initiative was reflective of the commitment of Japan to comply with the DFQF market access decision 
taken at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  He hoped that the enhanced DFQF market access 
measures would result in increased exports from the LDCs into the Japan ese market.  He also 
encouraged other Members to be inspired by the steps taken by the Government of Japan to take 
similar initiatives and help LDCs better integrate into the multilate ral trading system.  He proposed 
that the Sub-Committee take note of the notificati ons by Japan and of the statements made.  The 
record of the discussions would be transmitted to the CTD. 
12. It was so agreed .  
- Market Access Issues for LDCs in the Area  of Trade in Services (JOB(07)/32/Rev.1) 
13. The Chairman  recalled that Members had had a preliminary discussion on the note, and it was 
agreed that the item would be kept on the agenda .  He said that the LDCs and other Members had 
welcomed the note and reflected on a number of elements  in the area of trade in services.  In view of a 
request from the LDCs, the Secretariat had provide d additional information relevant for trade in 
services in LDCs.  To this effect, a revision of the note had recently been issued and was contained in 
JOB(07)/32/Rev.1.  He invited the Secretariat to briefly introduce its revised note. 
14. The representative of the Secretariat  said that he had taken due account of the comments 
made by Members at the last meeting on the note.  In order to fill the deficiency of information with 
regard to trade in services in LDCs, the Secretaria t had started to prepare "info sheets" for each LDC 
Member, combining information on trade flows and trade-policy measures.  In this regard, two 
examples had been given in the note (Angola and Bangladesh).  He explained that "info sheets" were being prepared for the other LDC Members and that  it would be available soon.  Each "info sheet" 
had been divided into two main sections.  The sectio n on sectoral reform and potential export interest 
in services contained a brief overview of recent liber alization/reform efforts in different service 
sectors for each LDC on the basis of information available, including WTO Trade Policy Review 
reports.  The idea behind this section was to provide a snapshot of reforms in different service sectors 
and how these sectors had been performing in the LDCs.  The second section of the "info sheet" contained trade data presenting services trade flow s, on the basis of Balance-of-Payments (BOP) 
statistics and other available sources.  Moreover, indication was given in the "info sheets" on the 
relevant mode of supply under th e General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for trade flows in 
various service sectors. 
15. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation to the 
Secretariat for the informative note on market access i ssues for LDCs in the area of trade in services.  
He noted that the document had provided importa nt information on sectoral reforms and potential 
export interests in services.  The data on service sectors provided in the note was required in order to 
take informed positions in the nego tiations.  He noted that the "info sheets" contained in the Annex to 
the note had covered only two LDCs, namely Angola and Bangladesh.  He considered this as a pilot 
phase of the work undertaken by the Secretariat and hoped that the Secretariat would complete 
compilation of similar "info sheets" for all LDCs so as to enable their officials, in particular Geneva-based negotiators, to have a clear and overall pictur e of their countries' services sectors.  He was 
encouraged to note that the Secretariat had been  working to prepare "info sheets" for all LDC 
Members as soon as possible.  In this regard, he said that he would await the completion of the task by 
the Secretariat.    WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 5 
 
 
  16. The representative of Senegal  associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on 
behalf of the LDCs.  He thanke d the Secretariat for undertaking the work of retrieving information 
relevant for trade in services in LDCs.  He found the exercise useful.  He welcomed the fact that the 
Secretariat would prepare "info sheets" for all LDCs, similar to the two "info sheets" prepared for Angola and Bangladesh.  He then suggested that th e Secretariat provide some information on major 
markets for LDCs in the services sector, including the share of developed and developing country 
markets in LDC services trade.  He underlined the need to have an accurate picture of LDC trade in 
services, in particular the market access situati on of LDCs in services trade in developed as well as 
developing country markets.   
17. The representative of Bangladesh
 thanked the Secretariat for providing additional information 
on trade in services in LDCs.  He appreciated the efforts of the Secretariat to gather as much 
information as possible in an area  where collection of statistics had been a daunting task.  He hoped 
that the "info sheets" presented in the Annex to th e note could be prepared for all LDCs, which would 
give a broader picture of LDC trade in services.  He recalled that, in his capacity as the previous Coordinator of the LDCs, he had made a detailed statement on this agenda item at the previous 
meeting.     
18. Underlining the importance of services trade for the LDCs, he went on to say that trade in 
services had been growing faster than trade in goods for both developed and developing countries.  At 
present, more than 40 per cent of world trade in services was between three major trading nations - the United States, European Union and Japan.  The LD Cs continued to remain the marginal players 
accounting for less than 1 per cent of world trade in se rvices.  He was aware that the current statistical 
concepts and methodologies did not allow services tr ade flows to be measured in line with the GATS 
classification.  This underlined the necessity to work on as many proxy indicators as possible to 
capture trade under the four modes of supply.  Th e methodological constraint s and data limitations 
were undermining the understanding of the role of se rvices in trade.  At the same time, these data 
limitations were an obstacle in developing a proper negotiating stra tegy for enhanced market access 
for LDCs.   
19. He pointed out that the LDCs had a limited range of services to offer.  The primary interests 
of the Group lay in mode 4, tourism and some busin ess services.  For instance, workers' remittances 
could be used as the best proxy to gauge the contri bution of mode 4 in any economy.  He referred to 
the "info sheet" for Bangladesh in the Annex to th e note, which showed that workers' remittances had 
brought US$3584 million to Bangladesh in 2004.  That  was nearly eight times higher than receipts 
coming from all commercial services.  This was a clear indication of the importance of mode 4 in 
countries like Bangladesh.  He further referred to Tabl e 1 of the note, which revealed that for a large 
number of LDCs "other commercial services" ha d accounted for more than 50 per cent of their 
services exports.  This was also in line with th e overall trends in services trade where "other 
commercial services" represented close to 50 per cen t of world trade in services.  He said that the 
problem with this information was its aggregation.   Table 1 in the note did not show in detail the 
categories under "other commercial services" that were earning higher revenues for LDCs or were 
important for the LDCs to give attention to.  He invited the Secretariat to explore whether a more 
disaggregated Table 1 could be presen ted to the Sub-Committee in future .  He noted the point made in 
the note that appropriate reforms in some "producer or infrastructure services" might generate benefits 
in some export-oriented sectors.  In fact, many  LDCs had been pursuing a liberalized economic 
policy, independent of the outcome of the negotiations in the WTO.  He pointed out that the nature of 
trade in services was different to that of trade in  goods.  To what extent reforms in sectors such as 
finance, banking, telecommunication contributed to  enhanced exports – merchandise or otherwise - 
was an open question.  It was found that measures undertaken to enhance overall economic efficiency 
might not ensure increased exports unless market  access conditions in exporting countries were 
favourable.  The LDCs also needed to be cautious of  the adverse effects of liberalization.  Several 
studies on the financial sector reform maintained th at premature liberalization of capital flows might WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 6  
 
  compound exchange volatility and engender capital fli ght.  The LDCs needed effective financial 
supervision.  The financial institutions in LDCs  were not developed, and without appropriate 
regulatory regime or effective financial superv ision, liberalization could be harmful.   
20. He said that the note had briefly touched on the ne gotiating issues.  It could not be denied that 
services negotiations had not received priority atten tion from Members.  It had taken a backseat in 
view of competing priorities surrounding Agricultu re and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) 
negotiations.  In addition, the qua lity of offers, both in terms of sectoral coverage and liberalizing 
content, had been disappointing.  Members were aware of the LDC issues in the current services 
negotiations.  There had been no agreement on a mech anism to grant special priority to LDCs in 
services trade.  Nor had the LDCs witnessed a serious engagement from Members on the "LDC 
Group Request on Mode 4".  He reiterated that th e implementation of the modalities for the special 
treatment of LDCs in the services negotiations ha d represented a development parameter.  Effective 
market access for LDC services a nd service suppliers, through a speci al priority mechanism was an 
in-built agenda in the GATS.  He hoped that an y legal obstacles in implementing the mechanism 
could be overcome, given the genuine will of Me mbers.  In conclusion, he stressed that the 
development of multilateral disciplines for trade in services was a recent undertaking.  There 
remained unfinished business from the Uruguay Round.  For instance, provisions pertaining to the 
temporary movement of natural persons were vague in the GATS and required clarity and further 
work.  The GATS framework had so far failed to deliver sufficiently on liberal commitments in 
mode 4.  Years of debate had failed and ther e was no agreement on the definition of different 
categories of natural persons providing services under mode 4.  In terms of coverage of natural 
persons, there was hardly any move away from th e Uruguay Round.  It was unfortunate that 
significant barriers such as stringent visa requirement s, quotas, application of economic needs test and 
lack of recognition of qualifications continued to u ndermine the potentials of this mode for the LDCs.  
It was also a sad reality that the trading partners  of LDCs were finding it difficult to distinguish, in 
practice, between temporary movements of natural persons and permanent migration.  Therefore, a 
huge amount of work needed to be carried out in order to secure effective market access under 
mode 4.  The multilateral trading system should ensure that gains from services trade accrue to countries like LDCs.  In this context, he request ed that the item be kept as a standing item on the 
agenda of the Sub-Committee.   
21. The representative of the United States
 thanked the Secretariat for preparing the note, which 
highlighted several issues related to LDCs' market  access.  It provided a cogent argument for looking 
beyond the narrowly defined export interests in determ ining the value of the services trade for LDCs.  
She felt that some of the elements of the paper,  including the discussion on mode 4 and the country 
"info sheets" needed a bit more elaboration to a llow for a complete discussion.  The note included a 
good discussion on infrastructure services and provided a succinct argument for the importance of looking beyond exports in defining national interest  with regard to services trade.  She found the 
concept of "incorporated" exports interesting, the importance of which could be seen in the empirical 
evidence.  The lack of reliable and detailed data , as indicated in paragraph 2 of the note, was 
particularly relevant for the discussion on mode 4.  Her delegation had long argued that the potential 
of mode 4, especially with respect to developmen t, had been exaggerated in the current Round of 
negotiations.  Aggregate data on remittances cited in the discussion was not broken down by source, 
and only a small percentage could be attributed to the temporary supply of services that was covered 
by mode 4.  For that reason, the numbers on rem ittance flow should not be taken to represent the 
entire potential of mode 4.  She stressed th at there was no clear link between remittances and 
sustained development.  Research had indicated that  the remittances were usually used for day-to-day 
expenses, and not for investment or developm ent.  She quoted from the UNCTAD Trade and 
Development Report (2006):  "Remittances have a di rect positive impact on poverty alleviation, but 
their effects on economic growth and development are less clear".  Mode 4 had been dealing only 
with the temporary entry of service suppliers.  It did not cover all forms of work nor did it cover 
foreign workers seeking to enter a Member's labour  market.  The semi-skilled and low-skilled work  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 7 
 
 
  described in the "LDC Group Request on Mode 4" in the services negotiations was generally filled 
through the permanent domestic employment and was not usually filled by temporary foreign service 
suppliers as covered by the GATS.  She then made a few comments on the country information 
sheets.  She found the concept of developing country-specific information a good one, where Members could benefit from succinct, country-speci fic snapshots on trade issues and trade data.  
However, she felt that the format needed to be fl eshed out, specifically the "sectoral reform" section 
which appeared to have been cut and pasted from other sources without adding context.  She hoped to 
hear from the LDCs on how such information should be  presented so as to be of benefit to them.   
22. She continued by saying that given the acknowledged deficiencies in the services trade data, 
some of the helpful information was compar ative data.  For example, statistics on the 
telecommunications sector in the note provided a comp arison of the country average to that of the 
average of middle-income and high-income countries.  That format of data presentation was better than data presented in other sectors without a reference point.  She underlined the need for 
compilation of data in a way that provide compara tive analysis.  She said that given the relationship 
between mode 3 and Foreign Direct Investment (F DI), and the positive relationship between FDI and 
economic growth, it might be useful to include ava ilable FDI data that could shed light on mode 3 
activity.  She recognized that FDI data at the indus try level for LDCs was not common, and that only 
a handful of LDCs had suffici ent detail in UNCTAD's report entitled "FDI in Least-developed 
Countries at a Glance:  2005/2006".  However, where th e data existed, it was instructive and helpful.  
For example, Bangladesh had received twice as much FDI in the services sector than in the primary 
and secondary sectors combined in the year 2002, which was the most recent data available.  
Additionally, she underlined the need to draw on data from the World Bank's Doing Business Report 
was underlined.  Research had shown that excessive  regulations restricted growth because resources 
were prevented from moving into the most productive  sectors and to the most efficient firms within 
sectors.  These findings had been based directly on  the data contained in the World Bank's Doing 
Business Report.  She pointed out that the data on workers' remittances provided in the note had been 
equated with the flows of movement of people und er mode 4, which was erroneous.  That would 
provide a distorted picture of the magnitude of th e flows under mode 4.  She said that mode 4 only 
dealt with temporary entry of service suppliers, which formed only a small pool of those providing 
remittances.  In conclusion, she expressed appreciat ion to the Secretariat for its note since it would 
help the debate on this issue move forward.  
23. The representative of Benin
 associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He underlined the importance of the wo rk undertaken by the Secretariat in the area of 
trade in services in LDCs.  The "info sheets" prepared  for two LDCs were considered as a first step of 
the work of combining information on trade in servic es in LDCs.  The information given in relation to 
Angola and Bangladesh had shown that there were oppor tunities for the LDCs in services trade.  He 
supported the idea of preparing "info sheets" for all LDCs, which would help LDCs in identifying 
existing possibilities in services trade.  He noted that  much of the information provided in the revised 
note was sourced from trade policy reviews, which were not that frequent for LDC Members.  Pending such reviews, up-to-date information could be  explored by the Secretariat in cooperation with 
his government agencies.  In the context of the fo llow-up work by the Secretariat on this topic, he 
underlined the need to work on constraints faced by LDCs in exports as well as imports of services, 
which could help them devise appropriate tec hnical and financial assistance and obtain maximum 
results from existing opportunities in services trade.  Tourism and mode 4 were the two areas holding 
potential for the LDCs.  Measures were taken in services sub-sectors, in particular in 
telecommunications services in various LDCs so as to improve the situation of LDCs in the services 
sector.  His delegation would remain in touch with th e Secretariat to help continue the current work. 
24. The representative of Norway
 thanked the Secretariat for its revised note, which his 
delegation found useful.  He found the "info sheets" combining information on trade flows and trade-
policy measures for Angola and Bangladesh interesti ng, and supported the idea of preparing such WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 8  
 
  "info sheets" for all LDCs.  In line with th e comments made by the representative of the 
United States, he also suggested that the Secret ariat work further on disaggregated data.  He 
emphasized the importance of Members undertaking co mmitments, to the extent possible, in sectors 
and modes of supply that represented a priority in LDC development policies.  That was also succinctly pointed out in the "LDC Group Request on Mode 4" which was s ubmitted in May 2006.  
He stressed that in considering the improvement of present services offers by his delegation, due 
attention to the "LDC Group Request on Mode 4" woul d be given.  He recalled the presentation made 
at the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Se rvices in April 2006 on the experience of Zambia 
in the services trade.  He had found that presentation interesting.  One of the conclusions made therein 
was that there were close linkages between the services sector reforms in his country and the 
elimination of impediments in the export markets.   His delegation had also taken due note of the 
inference made in that presentation that the lessons  from Zambia were applicable to all LDCs.  He 
hoped that future documentation from the Secretariat woul d shed more light on some of those issues.   
25. The representative of the European Communities
 said that his delegation had made a number 
of comments on the substance of the note at the last meeting of the S ub-Committee held in 
March 2007.  His delegation stood by those comment s.  He welcomed the additional information 
provided in the revised note for trade in services in the LDCs.  He also welcomed the intention of the 
Secretariat to prepare "info sheets" for all LDCs.  He found the note useful and a good basis to continue discussions on issues of importance to LDCs in the area of trade in services.   
26. The representative of Haiti
 associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho, on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He thanked the Secretariat for ta king the initiative in drawing up "info sheets" for 
Angola and Bangladesh.  He hoped that such "info sheet s" would be prepared for all LDCs.  He noted 
that some of the columns in Table 1 in the docum ent JOB(07)/32/Rev.1 referred to information as not 
available (N/A).  This had occurred with regard  to information on services exports from Haiti, in 
particular services statistics for transportation, travel  and other commercial services.  In this regard, 
the Haiti's Ministry of Trade would be able to pr ovide the Secretariat with necessary information, in 
particular on transportation services.  He also em phasized the need for effe ctive market access in 
mode 4.  Opening up of services sectors might not br ing the intended results.  His country had opened 
up telecommunication, banking and infrastructural se rvices.  However, no foreign enterprise had so 
far made a bid for these services in his country. 
27. The representative of Uganda  expressed his appreciation to the Secretariat for its note.  He 
associated himself with the statement made by Leso tho, on behalf of LDCs.  He further associated 
himself with the statement made by Bangladesh a nd the ideas suggested by some LDC delegations in 
improving the note.  He underlined the importance of  mode 4, as a major mode of supply of export 
interest to the LDCs.  In his view, it was difficult to determine the extent to which remittances coming 
from abroad were contributing to investment in the LDCs.  Moreover, that was not the sole objective 
of LDCs in pursuing access for some categories of natural persons, such as semi-skilled or less-skilled 
categories, supplying services under mode 4.  He stressed that the "LDC Group Request on Mode 4" 
which was submitted in the negotiations, essentially argued that mode 4 was a mode of supply where 
the LDCs had a comparative advantage and which c ould be the main driving factor behind LDCs 
benefiting from services trade. 
28. The representative of Mali  associated himself with the statem ent made by Lesotho, on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He noted that availability of statis tics in the area of trade in services had been patchy 
and limited.  In this regard, the suggestion to ask the Secretariat to get in touch with the government 
agencies responsible for providing statistics in Mali mi ght not bring the desired result.  In this regard, 
he recalled the work of International Trade Centre  (ITC) which had benefited several LDCs in data 
collection and compilation in services trade.  He in vited the Secretariat to explore the feasibility of 
carrying out specific programmes, with support from donors, to undertake data collection on services 
trade in LDCs.  While the Services Sectoral Clas sification List had identified some 160 subsectors,  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 9 
 
 
  services trade statistics were available only for a handful of sectors from BOP sources.  Against this 
background, he invited the Secretariat to assess the opportunity of launching a programme in various 
LDCs to collect more data in services trade in  the LDCs, with the pa rticipation of national 
consultants.  
29. The representative of the Secretariat  thanked Members for their comments and the 
suggestions made.  He found the response from Member s encouraging.  First, he reiterated that the 
Secretariat would prepare "info sheets" for all LDCs.  He added that much progress had been made in that regard.  Second, in response to the suggestio n from the representative of Bangladesh to provide 
more disaggregated statistics on the category of "other commercial services", he said that the 
Secretariat would look into that and would try to provid e the latest data available.  Third, in relation to 
the identification of export markets for LDCs in services trade, he said that, given the state of 
statistics, it would not be possible to identify bilatera l trade flows in services trade.  This problem was 
not only limited to the LDCs.  There was lack of  information on bilateral services trade for all 
Members.  In this regard, a number of initiatives were being taken by the developed countries to 
improve data collection in services trade so as to cap ture bilateral trade flows.  Given the access to a 
wide range of national data, individual governments mi ght be better placed to provide the Secretariat 
with information on individual country exports to sp ecific markets.  Fourth, with regard to some 
statistics appearing as "not available" in Table 1 of the note, he said that the database in the Secretariat 
was based on the IMF BOP Manual which in turn  built on from contributions from individual IMF 
members.   
30. He went on to say that he would appreciate it if information available to statistical 
departments or agencies in the LDCs on trade flow s for transportation, travel or other commercial 
services could be provided to the Secretariat.  The LDCs could also consider providing such 
information simultaneously to the IMF in order to ensure compatibility of data.  He took note of the 
suggestion made to flesh out some information provi ded in the "info sheets", and made some remarks 
on workers' remittances vis-à-vis  mode 4.  He recognized that workers' remittances was a proxy 
indicator for the temporary movement of natural pe rsons.  It did not represent mode 4 nor completely 
the flows under that mode of supply.  However, he maintained that workers' remittances could give a 
rough idea of the contribution of mode 4 to any economy.  Moreover, FDI flows did not necessarily reflect exact trade flows under mode 3.  They were al so a proxy indicator of mode 3 activity.  Finally, 
with regard to the suggestion from the representative of Mali, he said that it would be appropriate to 
get in touch with the Economic Research and Statis tics Division (ERSD) or the Institute of Training 
and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) of the WTO Secretariat to ascertain the type of technical 
cooperation the WTO could provide in  terms of statistics, and partic ularly in terms of statistics 
collection and dissemination.   
31. The Chairman
 noted the ever growing interest of Members for this item at the Sub-
Committee.  He noted that lack of trustworthy data  was a challenge in undertaking analysis of services 
trade in LDCs.  He underlined the importance of updati ng data in services trade on a regular basis.  He 
also underscored the importance of reliable data which could improve the analysis made on this topic.  
He hoped that with the help of the Secretariat, th e Sub-Committee would be ab le to revert to this 
important topic on a regular interval.  He also encourag ed the LDCs to provide data to the Secretariat.  
He hoped that LDCs could benefit from the Enhan ced Integrated Framework (EIF) to assist their 
governments in their efforts to improve their capacity to compile and analyze statistics.  He then drew 
the attention of Members to the book entitled "Services, Trade and Development - the Experience of 
Zambia".  He suggested that the Sub-Committee ta ke note of the document as well as the statements 
made.  
32. It was so agreed . WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 10  
 
  33. The Chairman
 expressed appreciation to H.E. Mr. Toufiq Ali (Bangladesh) for his 
contribution to the work of the Sub-Committee.  He said that Ambassador Ali, who had served his 
country in Geneva for six years, would be soon leaving upon completion of his tenure.  That would be 
a loss to the Sub-Committee.  His contribution to th e work of the WTO, and leadership in the LDC 
Group, was exemplary.  He recalled that Ambassador Ali had been closely involved in drawing up the 
WTO Work Programme for the LDCs in 2001 and since then had made regular substantive 
interventions on all agenda items of the Sub-Comm ittee.  He hoped to see him in another capacity in 
Geneva and that he would continue assisting the LDCs in the WTO.  The LDC Group had become a 
force in the negotiations which was possible largel y due to the tireless work of Ambassador Ali who 
had led the Group on several occasions.  He e xpressed his good wishes to Ambassador Ali in his 
future undertakings.  On behalf of the Sub-Co mmittee, and his own, he expressed gratitude to 
Ambassador Ali for his extraordinary work in favour of LDCs and for the Sub-Committee.   
34. The representative of Bangladesh  (H.E. Mr. Toufiq Ali) said that he had spent over six years 
in Geneva and had enjoyed his work in the WTO.  He  had tried to advance not only the interests of his 
country but also the  interests of the LDC Group in the WTO.  He had found each member of the LDC 
Group committed to the cause of LDCs.  They had a ll contributed to advancing the Group's interests 
in the negotiations.  He was happy to note that the LDC Group had become a force in the WTO.  He 
was confident that the members of the LDC Group would continue the hard work and would keep up their active participation in the negotiations.  He  had always looked upon the WTO negotiations, and 
particularly the issue of DFQF market access for LDCs, as a way of creating demand for LDC products.  It was up to the LDCs to respond to this potential demand through supply creation.  That 
was the fundamental challenge for the LDCs.  He recalled that in 2001, Members in the WTO were 
not receptive to discuss supply-side issues.  He coul d see today that attention to supply-side issues 
was paramount in the EIF or in the Aid for Trad e initiative.  He expressed appreciation to the 
Chairman for his knowledge and experience on devel opment issues, which could greatly contribute to 
the work of the Sub-Committee.  He would contin ue his association with trade issues in another 
capacity.   
(ii) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capac ity-Building Initiatives for Least-Developed 
Countries) 
- Overview of the Standards and Tr ade Development Facility (STDF) 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/40) 
35. The Chairman
 recalled that the Work Programme mandated the Sub-Committee to monitor 
trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) and capacity-building in itiatives taken in favour of LDCs, 
inter alia , to promote information flows and coordi nation.  The STDF was a capacity-building 
initiative to help developing countries enhance capac ity to comply with international sanitary and 
phytosanitary (SPS) measures - so that they could gain from market access opportunities.  In order to 
facilitate discussion on this item, the Secretariat had prepared a brief note contained in document 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/40.  He invited the representative  of the Secretariat to introduce its document. 
36. The representative of the Secretariat  said that the STDF grew out of a joint statement issued 
by the Heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (the OIE), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the WTO at the Doha Ministerial Conference in November 2001.  Through that statement the five organizations 
agreed to jointly explore new technical and fina ncial mechanisms for coordination and resource 
mobilization and to build alliances between the st andards-setting bodies referenced in the Agreement 
on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS Agreemen t).  The purpose was to ensure more effective 
use of technical and financial resources.  The STDF was formally launched in September 2002.  
However, it became truly operational with the a doption of a business plan in 2004.  In 2005, 
membership of the STDF was expanded to include donors and representatives of beneficiaries.  The  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 11 
 
 
  STDF had been funded through contributions by donors to the STDF Trust Fund which was 
established under the financial regulations and rules of the WTO. 
37. He pointed out that developing countries had been facing two main problems with respect to 
international standards adopted under the SPS Ag reement.  The first problem related to the 
participation in the preparation and the adoption of  international standards at Codex, IPPC and OIE 
meetings.  The second problem related to the applica tion of these international standards nationally.  
With regard to the issue of participation, he said that initiatives had been taken by organizations such 
as FAO, WHO with the establishment of a Trust Fu nd to assist participation of developing country 
officials in Codex meetings.  Similar initiatives had been undertaken by IPCC and OIE.  He noted that 
some donors had also come forward in this area.  On  the issue of applying international standards at 
the national level, STDF had been seeking to provi de assistance through enhancing the expertise and 
the capacity of developing countries to analyze and to  implement international SPS standards.  To this 
effect, project and project preparation grants (PPGs) were available.  He said that besides a financing 
mechanism, the STDF was also a coordinating mech anism, where the programme acted as a forum for 
information sharing on past, present and planned SPS -related technical cooperation activities.  Central 
to the STDF's coordination role was reporting on t echnical cooperation provided or planned, the 
sharing of project and programme implementation e xperience and the dissemination of good practices 
in relation to both the provision and the receipt of SPS-related technical cooperation.  A further 
important component of STDF's coor dination function was to ensure that projects and other proposed 
initiatives did not duplicate past, present or planned technical cooperation activities.  In this regard, 
efforts were being made to improve reporting on  SPS-related technical cooperation to the WTO-
OECD trade-capacity building database.  He reiterated that STDF was both a coordinating and 
financing mechanism.   
38. He went on to say that a new STDF Medium Te rm Strategy (2007 to 2011) had been adopted 
in December 2006.  That strategy placed emphasis on the STDF as a vehicle for coordination among technical cooperation providers, as well as for pr oject development through the use of PPGs and for 
the mobilization of donors to fund resulting projects.   It was also the aim of the STDF to mobilize 
financial resources, outside of the STDF funds, fo r projects that were developed under the STDF.  
However, STDF funds would continue to fund proj ects that were innovative, preventive and/or pilot 
projects that could be replicated by other donors.  He said that in terms of value added, the STDF had 
been performing the following functions:  (i) re ference point for good practices in SPS-related 
technical cooperation with the aim of developing centr es of excellence in this regard;  (ii) providing 
information on good practices that could be drawn upon by potential donors and recipients;  and (iii) 
disseminating lessons learned.  He added that the Facility was designed to benefit from the experience 
and the skills that each partners could bring to it .  The STDF had brought together the standard-setting 
organizations designated by the SPS Agreement.  He  said that the operations of the STDF were 
reported to the Committee on SPS.   
39. Since the adoption of the STDF business plan in September 2004, there had been an emphasis 
on developing synergies between the STDF and the Integrated Framework for Trade-related 
Technical Assistance (IF).  The STDF had a target to devote 40 per cent of grant resources to LDCs and Other Low Income Economies (OLIEs), as classifi ed by the World Bank.  This target had been 
achieved by building on diagnostic trade integrati on studies (DTISs) undertaken in IF countries and 
by designing projects from the priorities identified in DTISs.  To date, the IF exercise had led to 
approvals of STDF projects in a large number of IF  countries, for example, Burundi, Guinea, Mali, 
Mozambique, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda.  At present,  there were also four PPGs under consideration 
which would benefit IF countries, namely Benin, Madagascar, Malawi and Zambia.  He informed 
Members that an overview of all STDF projects and PPGs benefiting LDCs coul d be found in the note 
prepared by the Secretariat for this item.  He hope d that funding made available to the LDCs in the 
context of the EIF should provide opport unities for future STDF/IF collaboration. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 12  
 
  40. He said that the STDF had been seeking to build synergies with other technical cooperation 
programmes such as the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP).  Synergies were 
also being sought on programmes with a specific SPS nature such as interventions to tackle animal 
diseases such as avian influenza.  He stressed that the STDF clearly  fell within the ambit of the 
Aid for Trade initiative.  Aid for Trade sought to encourage WTO Members to expand their financing 
of trade-related programmes to assist deve loping countries in the implementation of WTO 
Agreements and to build trade capacity more broadly.   He said that he did not wish to talk about the 
STDF's role in the Aid for Trade Initiative, as a br iefing on this had been provided recently to the 
CTD.  He reiterated that STDF was a concrete impl ementation of aid for trade since it embraced many 
of the elements of aid for trade such as monitori ng and evaluating aid flows at operational as well as 
sector-specific level.  He said that as part of its coordination function, the STDF was researching the 
supply and receipt of SPS-related technical cooperati on.  This work was ongoing in two phases.  At 
the first phase, which was currently ongoing, the s upply of technical assistance was being measured 
against evaluation of needs and priorities.  The second phase would try to stre ngthen the link between 
supply and demand.  Under this research work, th ree regions would be surveyed.  These included: 
Central America, the East African Community (EAC) and a sub-group of countries from the 
Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.  He hoped 
that this research in the three regions would cu lminate in the identification of good practices, in 
finding ways to make technical assistance more effe ctive, in prioritizing SPS needs and in mobilizing 
donors.  He said that this research would feed into  the broader Aid for Trade Initiative.  He further 
informed Members that three regional Aid for Trade events would be organized in 
September/October (2007) in Peru , Tanzania and the Philippines.  During these events, a one-day 
pre-event on SPS technical assistance would be orga nized by the STDF Secretariat and the results of 
the first phase of the research work would be presen ted there.  He said that the second phase of the 
research work would be presented in separate regiona l consultations which would be organized in the 
second quarter of 2008.   
41. He went on to say that two forms of grants we re available under STDF.  The PPGs were a key 
mechanism for STDF programme development as they helped overcome constraints faced by 
developing countries in the articulation of their needs.  PPGs up to a maximum of US$20,000 were available for proposal development.  Such grants were  also awarded to eligible organizations to revise 
project proposals that were of interest to the STDF Working Group, which was the forum bringing all 
the partners and donors together and which met thr ee times a year.  The PPGs were also a mechanism 
to ensure synergy with other ongoing initiatives such as th e IF.  In this regard, PPGs had been used to 
bridge the gap between the identification of the need s in the area of SPS, and the articulation through 
concrete project proposals.  He noted that project s stemming from the PPGs might be funded either 
from STDF or from other sources.  The STDF Medium  Term Strategy adopted in December 2006 
placed greater focus on the use of PPGs to deve lop projects for donor interventions to implement 
those projects.  He said that project grants up to  a maximum of US$600,000 were available.  There 
was no minimum limit applicable to the size of the project, but project grants typically ranged from 
US$100,000 to US$600,000.  The STDF, ideally, would fund those projects that were innovative, preventative and replicable.  Financing up to 90 per cen t of project total cost was available for private 
and public organizations in LDCs and OLIEs.  Ten per cent should be funded by the beneficiary, 
either in the form of financing or in kind contri butions.  Regional projects which included at least one 
LDC or one other low-income economy could also be nefit from this 90 per cent funding.  He said that 
entities eligible for STDF funding included publ ic sector entities with responsibility for SPS 
measures, private sector entities, professional service provider organizations, trade and industry associations, regional or international organizations  or NGOs that had expertise in SPS areas, etc.  
Projects with elements of public/private sect or cooperation were being encouraged.   
42. 
He continued by saying that the objectives of the project should be to enhance the capacity to 
meet official or commercial SPS requirements and/ or to better protect human/animal/plant health 
against disease/pest hazards from border trade.  Th e project proposal should also describe how the  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 13 
 
 
  project would relate to past, present or planned technical assistance.  He said that a number of 
activities would not be funded from the STDF.  Projects whose main objective was to address environmental or labour standard s were not funded by the STDF.  The Facility would support projects 
that aimed to achieve compliance with commercial sta ndards, only as part of a broader market access 
strategy which also fulfilled SPS requirements.  In th is context, he drew the attention of Members to 
the ongoing discussion in the Committee on SPS me asures on private standards.  He added that 
buildings, vehicles, major equipment items, with th e exception of information technology, laboratory 
equipment, would not be funded from STDF.  More over, requests for funding should be made to the 
STDF Secretariat according to the formats/templat es agreed by the STDF 45 days in advance of each 
STDF Working Group meeting.  It was necessary to  submit requests in advance allowing the STDF 
Secretariat to review the project proposals.  He sai d that the proposals were accepted in one of the 
three working languages of the WTO, namely English,  French or Spanish.  The cost of translation 
from French and Spanish into English, which had been the working language of the STDF, was borne 
by the WTO Secretariat.  He informed Members th at the next deadline for submission of projects and 
PPGs was 2 September 2007.  A number of meetings  were scheduled for the current year, which 
included:  (i) STDF Working Group on 29 June 2007, and in October 2007;  (ii) STDF Policy 
Committee in October 2007;  (iii) Aid for Trade even ts in September and Oct ober 2007.  He gave an 
account of issues that were to be taken up at the STDF Working Group meeting on 29 June 2007, 
which would include a presentation of an evaluation of the first three STDF projects that had been 
completed.  Project proposals from Burkina Faso, Ca pe Verde, Mauritania, Tanzania, Yemen were on 
the table as well as a PPG proposal from Sierra Leone.  He noted that the majority of the projects to 
be discussed at the STDF Working Group were from the LDCs.  Documents for the above mentioned 
meetings would be available on the STDF website.   He encouraged Members to contact the STDF 
Secretariat for any information on the programme. 
43. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation to the 
Secretariat for its presentation.  He considered th at the STDF programme had been an effort in the 
right direction to assist the LDCs.  Standards were one of the major hurdles that the LDCs were facing 
in increasing exports.  Most LDCs had been endow ed with rich and varied flora and fauna.  
Assistance from programmes such as the STDF coul d increase the export potential of LDCs.  He 
shared the objectives of the STDF, and welcomed its emphasis on capacity building to analyze and 
implement SPS standards.  He underlined the importa nce of sustained development of expertise and 
skills in the LDCs to deal with issue of standa rds.  He also welcomed the linkages to other 
programmes as it would ensure synergy, symbiosis and avoid duplication of efforts.  He looked 
forward to the regional meetings where the benefi ciaries could closely examine the programme.  He 
congratulated the team that had been undertak ing the work on STDF in the Secretariat.   
44. The representative of Senegal  congratulated the Secretariat for its comprehensive 
presentation.  He echoed the statement made by Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  STDF was an 
important project for his country.  He said that the vegetable and fruits sector in West Africa was an 
important sector, and operators had been encounter ing problems with regard to SPS standards.  He 
recalled the SPS workshop in his country, where he had been present and had met with the 
representatives from Senegal's private sector who had b een exporting to the EU markets.  He also 
recalled that some of those representatives were f acing problems in contacting relevant officials in 
some of the countries in the EU.  He noted that September 2007 was the deadline for submission of 
new projects which he would relay to his capital.   He wondered whether it was possible at the 
Sub-Committee to have information on progress achieved and difficulties experienced by the beneficiaries in some of the projects that were be ing implemented.  Such information sharing would 
be useful for LDCs.   
45. The representative of Benin
 associated himself with the statem ent made by Lesotho on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He thanked the Secretariat for its  comprehensive presentation.  He underlined the 
importance of strengthening capacity in the area of standards in LDCs.  He was happy to note that WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 14  
 
  four STDF projects were either being implemente d or would commence soon in his country.  He 
emphasized the need to address problems relating to st andards at a regional level.  He said that his 
country had good quality agricultural products, such as pineapple, coffee and citrus products, which 
had potential for exports.  However,  such products were prone to diseases which could spread to the 
neighbouring countries at a great speed.  In this context, a regional approach to address certain 
standards issues would be useful.  He cited the ex ample of trade of animal products in the Saharan 
countries in Africa which could benefit from regional projects.  He also spoke about the problem of 
attacks by locusts from a country which could da mage harvests and cause catastrophes in another 
country in the same region.  That was the reasons why problems relating to standards would need to 
be addressed in a regional context. 
46. The representative of the Solomon Islands
 associated himself with the statement made by 
Lesotho on behalf of the LDCs.  He emphasized the need for technical assistance to LDCs in the area 
of SPS standards.  He noted from the Secretariat document that no Pacific Islands country had yet 
been a beneficiary of this programme.  He, how ever, recognized from the presentation that Samoa 
would benefit from an STDF project.  He hoped th at the programme would reach his region and be 
truly a global programme.  STDF could become a cent re of excellence for information exchange and 
good practices on SPS-related technical assistance.  
47. The representative of Mali  associated himself with the statem ent made by Lesotho on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He noted from the Secretariat docum ent that his country had been benefiting from two 
STDF projects.  The two projects were:  (i) enhanci ng capacity in meeting sanitary standards;  and 
(ii) strengthening capacities of the national phytosanita ry control system, with particular reference to 
mango exports.  The authorities in his country were  pleased with the quality of cooperation with the 
implementing agency of the project.  The principa l exports of Mali were composed of perishable 
products.  His country had a capacity to export ma ngoes on a large scale.  Transportation was a big 
problem in exporting huge quantities which were perish able and which were prone to attack by flies 
causing damage to the product.  That was why the STDF project was helpful.  It allowed for the 
increase of mango exports from Mali with immedi ate income gains for the farmers.   
48. He underlined the importance of addressing some of the pest diseases in a regional context.  
Since his country had also been involved in livestoc k and livestock products trade, it was important to 
protect these products in one country, as neighbouring countries could be affected by the flight of 
vectors.  He drew Members' attention to Annex 1 of the note which listed three projects, the approval 
of which had been revoked.  He asked the Secretar iat to explain the reasons behind the cancellation of 
those projects.  He also wished to know whether there were any limits for requests for assistance by 
the LDCs under the STDF.  He noted the point that the requests for assistance under STDF had to be made 45 days before each STDF Working Group me eting.  He expressed the confidence of his 
country in the STDF.  He said that his country might submit proposals for funding before the next deadline for submission of requests in September 2007.   He informed the meeting of a possible "Mali 
Day" in September 2007, the programme for whic h was being drawn up.  His delegation would 
underline the importance of STDF at that event.  
49. The representative of Zambia
 associated herself with the statement made by Lesotho on 
behalf of the LDCs.  She thanked the Secretariat for its comprehensive presentation.  She underscored 
the importance of attaching adequate attention to th e area of standards.  Her country had substantial 
productive capacity in paprika and groundnuts.  Due to lack of capacity in meeting international 
standards, her country was not able to export produc ts from these two sectors in a way that could help 
the local producers.  She stressed that there was a need to focus on a regional approach to address 
standards issues in the LDCs, and welcomed the regi onal approach taken in several STDF projects.  In 
this regard, she pointed out that borders were rela tively open in many LDCs allowing a great deal of 
movement of products and animals which were prone to disease or pests.  She urged the STDF 
Secretariat to work closely with the Secretariats  of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Africa (COMESA), as well as Southern African De velopment Community (SADC), which were also 
doing a great deal of work in trying to harmonize  the standards-related capacity in the LDCs and to 
ensure that international standa rds were achieved by the LDCs.  
50. The representative of Haiti  associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho on behalf 
of the LDCs.  He expressed appreciation to the S ecretariat for its presentation.  The development of 
capacity in the area of standards was important for exports from the LDCs.  He noted from the 
presentation made by the Secretariat that STDF would not fund all the needs in the area of standards 
such as helping countries to comply with private st andards.  He asked the Secretariat whether it had 
all the capacity and knowledge necessary in order to  improve the quality infrastructure in countries 
like Haiti.   
51. The representative of Rwanda  associated himself with the statement made by Lesotho on 
behalf of the LDCs.  He thanked the Secretar iat for its exhaustive presentation.  He expressed 
appreciation to the Chairman for his able guidance in steering the work of the Sub-Committee.  He 
stressed that conformity  with international standards was critical  in order to improve exports from the 
LDCs.  In that context, STDF projects were of great  benefit to the LDCs.  It had started only a couple 
of years ago and had already brought success to a number of LDCs.  He noted from Annex 1 of the 
document that a few countries had gone into the im plementation stage of STDF projects.  In this 
context, he said that the project in his country in the field of horticulture would soon go into the implementation stage.  He hoped that his country would be able to reinfo rce the necessary capacities 
for export of horticulture products.  It was with su ch assistance that countries could have effective 
market entry into their export markets bringing s ubstantial and continuous income for farmers and 
other economic operators in this fi eld.  He welcomed the synergy with other ongoing initiatives such 
as the IF and with the broader Aid for Trade In itiative.  He also underscored the need for an 
evaluation of some projects that had been implem ented which could show the added value of STDF 
projects.  He hoped that evaluation in future years would be more substantial from the point of view 
of impact in the LDCs.  He noted the presence of several donor countries in the meeting, which would 
understand the importance attached by the LDCs to the STDF.  He hoped that uninterrupted 
contributions to STDF would benefit LDCs, with a positive impact on exports from the LDCs.  He 
stressed that in order to integrate into internati onal trade, LDCs not only needed to produce more but 
that it was also necessary to conform to international standards so as to be able to effectively enter 
export markets, meeting the c onditions of the demanders.  
52. The representative of Burkina Faso
 congratulated the Chairman for his able stewardship in the 
work of the Sub-Committee.  He endorsed the stat ement that Lesotho had made on behalf of the 
LDCs.  His Government was pleased about the launc hing of STDF, the importance and efficiency of 
which had been amply demonstrated.  LDCs had been facing problems in  the area of standards.  It had 
been a handicap to exports from the LDCs.  If STD F projects could help LDCs overcome difficulties 
relating to standards, it would give a boost to tr ade and would augur well for their economies.  He 
extended support towards the enhanc ement of standards-related cap acity in LDCs through a regional 
approach in view of similarity of economies and fluidity of borders which could transmit problems 
from one LDC to another.  He noted that  the next STDF Working Group would meet on 
29 June 2007.  He wondered whether the participa tion in that Working Group, which was responsible 
for approval of projects, was open-ended or limited.  He requested more information on how decisions 
were taken in favour of the beneficiary countries under STDF.  
53. The representative of the Secretariat  responded to the questions/comments made by the 
delegations.  With regard to in formation sought on the evaluation of  projects, he said that three 
projects initiated in 2004/2005 had b een completed and evaluated.  The evaluation reports would be 
available soon.  He added that the website of th e STDF was being overhauled at present, and would 
contain progress reports on all projects.  He drew th e attention of Members to the note on this item, 
which also contained information on progress of the various STDF projects.  He invited the LDCs to WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 16  
 
  approach the Secretariat if there were any specific questions on a particular project.  He noted the 
wide support from the LDCs for projects at a regi onal level.  The STDF fully embraced the views 
expressed by the LDCs in this regard.  He said th at regional projects submitted by the LDCs would be 
given favourable consideration by the STDF.  As regards the revoking of a number of projects, he 
explained that the STDF operational rules containe d a provision that implementation of the projects 
should commence within one year after its approval by the Working Group.  That had not been the 
case for those projects.  In this regard, he sai d that the WTO had been negotiating a framework 
agreement with a number of organizations that shou ld either implement or supervise those projects, 
notably the FAO and the World Bank.  A framework agreement with the FAO had been completed and similar agreements with th e World Bank and ITC were nearing completion.  He then gave 
specific information on each of the projects that had been revoked.  He said that the funding for the 
STDF project for Djibouti (project number STDF-64) was being sought directly from bilateral donors.  
Concerning the project in Benin (project number STDF-48), additional information had been sought 
from the applicant.  As regards the project in Yemen (project number STDF-69), he said that the 
project had been re-tabled and would be take n up at the STDF Working Group to take place on 
29 June 2007.  That meeting was not open to all Me mbers since it was not a regular WTO committee.  
However, representatives from beneficiary countri es were included in the governing body of the 
STDF.  Currently, there were three representa tives from three regions: Asia (India);  Africa 
(Namibia);  and Latin America (Costa Rica).  These representatives were selected by the Chair of the STDF Working Group upon the recommendation of the Chair of the Committee on SPS.  That was the mechanism by which representation fro m beneficiary countries were made. 
54. The representative of Haiti
 emphasized the need for targ eted assistance to address the 
challenges faced by his country with regard to standard s.  He cited as an example that exporters of his 
country to the United States had faced certain cond itions which they could not meet.  Their market 
share in fruit exports had dropped due to attack of pests on fruits.  He requested the Secretariat to 
provide them with more detailed in formation on how to deal with such problems.  At present, both 
private and public sectors were financing research in th e area of standards to help his authorities deal 
with the problem.  He underlined the n eed for additional aid in this area.   
55. The representative of Rwanda  noted that Costa Rica, India and Namibia were the members of 
the STDF Working Group.  He also noted that there was no Steering Committee in the governance 
structure of STDF.  He felt that Members were not always briefed on the process and decisions taken under the STDF.  He wondered whether it was possibl e to have representation of the LDCs in the 
STDF Working Group.  He requested that this issue of greater representation be considered by that 
Group.  He noted that the STDF funds were meant fo r capacity building for beneficiary countries.  He 
suggested that coordinators of certain groups, such as the LDCs, could form part of the STDF 
Working Group.   
56. The representative of Benin
 supported the proposal made by the representative of Rwanda on 
the participation of LDCs in the STDF Work ing Group.  He recommended that there be a 
representative of the LDCs in the body which was involved in approving projects.  He hoped for flexible rules to allow such repr esentation in the STDF governing bodies.  He indicated that he would 
get in touch with the Secretariat for additional information on the STDF project in Benin (STDF-48). 
57. The representative of the Secretariat
 noted the request from Haiti to receive additional 
information on how the STDF could assist the country to improve capacity in standards.  He would 
provide the delegation of Haiti with additional inform ation on STDF on a bilateral basis.  With regard 
to the governance structure of STDF, he info rmed Members that there was an STDF Policy 
Committee similar to the Steering Committee of other technical assistance programmes such as the IF.  
He said that the STDF Policy Committee met on ce a year and oversaw the work of the STDF 
Working Group and the STDF Secretariat.  The STDF Policy Committee comprised representations at 
a political level from donors as well as international agencies.  On the other hand, the STDF Working  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Group had been working as a technical committ ee where projects and PPGs were thoroughly 
discussed.  He felt that the current structure of representation at the STDF Working Group with 
representations from partner organizations, beneficiar ies and donors was efficient to carry out the task 
entrusted to the Group.  An expansion of the Gr oup might not bring desired results since it was a 
technical committee.  He, however, had not ed the proposals made at the meeting. 
58. The Chairman  said that the debate had shown the im portance of the subject matter to the 
LDCs.  The issue of standards was particularly rele vant for the agricultural sector and for exports of 
fish and fish products.  Agriculture was ofte n the backbone of LDCs' economies and was a major 
source of employment.  In most LDCs, the ru ral population had been e ngaged in agricultural 
production and most of them were  small-scale producers.  The issue of standards was not only 
important for LDCs to promote international trade but  also to boost regional trade.  He underlined the 
importance of building necessary capacity in LDCs to  meet international standards.  He noted the 
specific list of projects provided in the Annex to th e note, which he had found useful.  He was also 
encouraged to see the quality of response by the LDCs to the various STDF projects under implementation.   
59. He underlined the importance of addressing th e standards problems faced by LDCs in a 
regional context.  Since most of the LDCs were part of regional trading groups, he wondered whether 
such trading groups could work closely to build cap acity in LDCs to meet standards requirements.  
That would also ensure harmonization of standards-re lated capacity in the LDCs.  He took note of the 
procedures and processes of the STDF, including the operations of the STDF Working Group.  He felt 
that it would be interesting to come back to this  topic on a regular interval.  He would remain in 
contact with the Coordinator of the LDCs to discuss  with what frequency this item should be taken up 
by the Sub-Committee.  He proposed that the S ub-Committee take note of the document by the 
Secretariat as well as of the statements made. 
60. It was so agreed.
   
- Implementation of the Enhanced Inte grated Framework (EIF):  Progress Report 
61. The Chairman  recalled that at their meetings on 1 May 2007, the Integrated Framework 
Working Group (IFWG) and the Integrated Fram ework Steering Committee (IFSC) had adopted a 
package of recommendations to start the implementa tion phase of the EIF.  Intense work had been 
ongoing in order to ensure a smooth transition from th e current IF to its enhanced phase.  The EIF 
Board, on an interim basis, had been meeting regular ly.  He invited the Chairman of the EIF Interim 
Board to provide the Sub-Committee with a progress report on the starting phase of the 
implementation of the enhanced IF.   
62. The Chairman  of the IF Interim Board (Ambassador Maruping, Lesotho) said that the IFWG 
and the IFSC had adopted a package of recommenda tions on 1 May 2007, to start the implementation 
phase of the EIF.  Intense work had been ongoing in  order to ensure a smooth transition from the 
current IF to its enhanced phase.  The EIF Board, on  an interim basis, had been meeting regularly as 
of 23 May 2007.  He said that the package of working documents adopted on 1 May 2007 could be 
found in English and French on the IF website (www.integratedframework.o rg).  The documents 
contained in the package were work in progress, as  some issues still needed to be finalized.  The 
IFWG had also agreed that pending the first meeting of the Board under the EIF, an Interim Board would address the outstanding issues.  In this context, he said that the outstanding issues were the following:  (i) devising the accountability framework fo r the Trust Fund Manager, yet to be selected;  
(ii) formulation of monitoring and evaluation system s;  (iii) further clarification of funding and 
replenishment issues;  and (iv) further ela boration of ideas on outreach activities and their 
concretisation.  In addition, to allow an effective operation of the Board, the Interim Board had started WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 18  
 
  to draft rules of procedures.  The EIF Interim Board had been provided with regular updates on the 
recruitment process for the Executive Dir ector of the Executive Secretariat.  
63. He pointed out that the EIF Interim Board had been meeting every week and had so far met 
five times.  The Board consisted of representatives from the six IF Agencies, namely, IMF, ITC, UNDP, UNCTAD, the World Bank and the WTO, and three representatives each from the LDCs 
(Rwanda, Senegal and Yemen) a nd the cooperating partners (Canada, Switzerland and the UK) 
respectively.  The WTO Secretariat had offered to se rvice the meetings of the EIF Interim Board until 
the Executive Director of the EIF Executive Secretariat had been r ecruited and was in place.  The 
Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) of the WTO Secr etariat had agreed to service the meetings of 
the EIF Interim Board, in addition to carrying out  its core mandate.  He said that one of the most 
pressing issues that the EIF Interim Board was cu rrently addressing was the accountability framework 
for the future Trust Fund Manager.  That mean t setting out the modalities on how the future Trust 
Fund Manager would report to the EIF governin g bodies.  Finding an acceptable accountability 
framework was critical to allowing the EIF Interim Board to proceed with the selection of the future 
Trust Fund Manager.  Aspiring candidates for the t ask should demonstrate the ability to conform to 
the model agreed upon.  He said that discussions were evolving around two key questions:  (i) what 
were the examples of alternative credible accountabilit y frameworks?;  and (ii) what was the viable  
roadmap for the selection of the Trust Fund Manage r?  He informed Members that, so far, two 
suggested accountability framework models were on the table.  One had been presented by the WTO 
and the other by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office, Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships, 
from UNDP New York.  The latter option had fo cused on managing multi-donor trust funds through 
an administrative agent function.  He reiterated th at the EIF Interim Board was fully cognisant of the 
urgency of the issue, and had intensified its discussi ons on this matter.  An open-ended meeting on an 
Accountability Framework for the Trust Fund Mana ger was scheduled for 6 July 2007.  On 
monitoring and evaluation (M&E), the EIF Interim Board had agreed at its meeting on 22 June 2007, that members should work jointly on a new draft of  the M&E paper to be made available to the open-
ended M&E meeting at a later stage.  
64. In terms of funding and replenishment, he said that the EIF Interim Board had been informed 
at its last meeting, of the planned High- Level Donor Pledging Conference scheduled for 
25 September 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden.  The meeti ng would bring together a number of interested 
donors.  He stressed that all outstanding issues assigned by the IFWG would need to be fully addressed and concluded by that time, the most im portant of which was the selection of the future 
Trust Fund Manager.  In this context, the date of the Stockholm Pledging Conference had turned out 
to serve as an important deadline for the work carried  out by the EIF Interim Board.  With respect to 
outreach activities, he said that a number of pr opositions was being discussed to raise awareness of 
the existence, objectives and procedures of the EIF.  In this context, the PIU had been undertaking 
missions in fulfilment of its regular mandate.  An outreach mission to IF beneficiaries namely, 
Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda had taken place earlier in the year.  Additional outreach 
missions were planned for July and September 2007.   In addition, National Validation Workshops 
were covered by the PIU.  These events were used for outreach and awareness raising of the EIF.  For 
instance, at the time of the Validation Worksh op that took place in Burkina Faso from 21 to 
22 June 2007, an EIF session was held separately by the PIU with members of the Government, bilateral donors and IF agencies.  A similar form at would be followed for the National Validation 
Workshop in The Gambia (2 to 4 July 2007) and in Angola (11 to 12 July 2007).  In addition to these 
outreach efforts of the PIU, DFID would finance a workshop in Livingstone (Zambia) to be held from 17 to 18 July 2007, which would focus on the enhancement of the IF in a regional context.  He said that the WTO and UNDP were fina lizing paperwork to enable funds  from the IF Trust Fund to be 
transferred to the WTO in order to commence the setting up of the Executive Secretariat in 
accordance with the agreed TORs.  Once funds were received, the Vacancy Notice for the Executive 
Director would be issued, according to the normal WTO practice.  The agreed Job Description and selection process of the Executive Director could be found in the package of working documents to  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
 Page 19 
 
 
  which reference was made earlier and which were also on the IF website 
(www.integratedframework.org).  He informed Me mbers that the PIU had started issuing the PIU 
Newsletter, available in both French  and English on the IF website.   
65. He said that the EIF Interim Board had also a ddressed a procedural issue for which a definite 
decision by the Sub-Committee was being sought.  He recalled that the governing bodies under the 
current IF had held their last meeting on 1 May 2007.  However, since the EIF had not been fully 
operational at that time, the IFWG and the IFSC had decided at that meeting, that the IFWG would continue to operate by electronic means to attend to the day-to-day business of the current IF until 
such time as the Board decided otherwise.  Given this  situation, at its first meeting, the EIF Interim 
Board expressed its preference for the transfer of th e mandate given to the IFWG to the former as 
soon as possible.  In this context, the Legal Di vision of the WTO Secretariat had informed the 
members of the EIF Interim Board that the appropriate  forum to carry out this transfer would be the 
Sub-Committee.  In its Decision of 12 February  2001, the Sub-Committee had created the Inter 
Agency Working Group (IAWG), which later was re named the IFWG.  He explained that the Sub-
Committee was the body which created the IFWG, and which could legitimately change its 
responsibilities and hence transfer them to another body.  Therefore, the decision to transfer the 
responsibility from the IFWG to the EIF Interim Bo ard lay with the Sub-Committee.  Accordingly, 
the EIF Interim Board had indicated its readiness and willingness, to the Sub-Committee, to assume 
the responsibilities hitherto entrusted to the IFWG  and had requested the Sub-Committee to take 
appropriate action at the current meeting.  The EIF Interim Board had, therefore, requested the Sub-Committee's consent that, beginning 29 June 2007, a ll responsibilities entrusted to the IFWG pursuant 
to the Decisions of 12 February 2001 of the Sub-Committee (document WT/LDC/SWG/IF/13) be 
vested in the EIF Interim Board.  The EIF Interi m Board would ensure that its decisions regarding 
allocations from the current IF Trust Fund would be taken by consensus in order to meet the legal 
requirements of the IF Trust Fund Manager.  It w as the trust and hope of the EIF Interim Board that 
the 47
th Session of the Sub-Committee would see its way clear to approving this request at the 
meeting.  
66. The representative of Bangladesh  underlined the importance of EIF for the LDCs.  He hoped 
that the EIF would improve supply-side capacity in the LDCs.  In this context, he said that it was 
important to associate the UN and other inter-govern mental organizations that could contribute to 
developing supply-side capacity in the LDCs.  He recalled that the Coordinator of the LDCs had 
recently written to the Chairman of the Interim EI F Board to include the United Nations Industrial 
Development Organization (UNIDO) in the categor y of implementing agencies of the EIF.  His 
delegation would also welcome the inclusion of other organizations that could substantively 
contribute to the benefits of LDCs.  In conclusion,  he underscored the need for periodic review of the 
progress of the EIF at the Sub-Committee. 
67. The representative of Benin  extended his support for the adoption of the procedural decision 
required at the Sub-Committee to f acilitate the work of the EIF.  He underlined the need for some 
transitional arrangements such as the EIF Interim Bo ard, which could advance the work on EIF until 
the entire structure was in place.  He informed Memb ers that the UNDP was the lead agency of the IF 
process in his country.  In the context of the IF  process, his Government had signed a development 
programme with UNDP on 6 June 2007.   He hoped that the developmen t partners would be able to 
support the implementation of that programme.  
68. The representative of Rwanda  said that he would support the transfer of responsibilities from 
the IFWG to the Interim EIF Board with one conditi on.  He hoped that there would be no implication 
for the continuity of the implementation of projects ongoing under Window II of the current IF Trust Fund.  The current activities should continue until th e establishment of the appropriate entities for the 
effective launching of the EIF, or until a date was agreed for the cessation of activities under the 
current IF. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/47 
Page 20  
 
  69. The representative of Burkina Faso
 urged Members to approve the procedural decision that 
was required by the Sub-Committee, as outlined by the Chairman of the Interim EIF Board.  He 
thanked the IF agencies and donors which had enab led the holding of the IF validation workshop in 
his country very recently.  His Government was happy to be able to take part in the IF process, and 
hoped that it would further benefit fro m the experience of other LDCs.  
70. The representative of Haiti  thanked the Chairman of the EIF Interim Board for his progress 
report on the implementation of the EIF.  He said that Haiti had been involved in the IF process and that a World Bank mission had been carried out in  his country in June 2007.  He wondered whether 
the Secretariat had any feedback on that mission. 
71. The Chairman
, in response to the question from the repr esentative of Haiti, said that the IF 
Secretariat was in contact with the World Bank to set up a date for a mission to take place in Haiti.  
He thanked Members for their comments and observati ons.  He said that Members had heard from the 
report made by the Chairman of the EIF Interim Bo ard that the EIF Interim Board had indicated its 
willingness to the Sub-Committee to take over th e responsibilities entrusted to the IFWG, earlier 
called IAWG, and had requested the Sub-Committee to take appropriate action.  He proposed that the 
Sub-Committee take note of the EIF Interim Bo ard's willingness to take over the responsibilities 
entrusted to the IFWG.  He also proposed that th e Sub-Committee agree that, as of 29 June 2007, all 
responsibilities entrusted to the IFWG pursuant to the Decisions of the 12 February 2001 by the 
Sub-Committee be vested in the EIF Interim Board (and subsequently the EIF Board).  The EIF Board 
would then ensure that its decisions regarding a llocations from the current IF Trust Fund would be 
taken by consensus. 
72. It was so agreed .   
73. The Chairman  hoped that the outstanding issues would be resolved soon so as to make the 
enhanced IF fully operational as soon as possible.  
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
74. The Chairman  informed Members that the next meeting of the Sub-Committee was 
tentatively scheduled for 18 October 2007.  The exact  date would be communicated in due course.  He 
said that he would remain in close contact with th e LDCs, in particular with the Coordinator of the 
LDCs, so as to take into account any concerns/issu es that the LDCs would like to address at the next 
meeting of the Sub-Committee.  
75. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned . 
 
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