WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/CTD/24 
14 December 2009 
 
 (09-6464) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Special Session  
 
 
 
SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
 
Report by the Chairman, Ambassador Thawatchai Sophastienphong (Thailand),  
to the General Council  
  
I. INTRODUCTION  
In pursuance of the Doha work programme on special and differential treatment (S&D)
1 
developing countries and the le ast-developed countries (LDCs) tabled a total of 88 
Agreement-specific proposals in the Special Sess ion of the Committee on Trade and Development 
(Special Session).  Thirty-eight of these proposals (Category II proposals) were referred to other 
negotiating groups and WTO bodies for consideration.  Of the proposals remaining for consideration 
in the Special Session, Members reached an in-princ iple agreement on 28 proposals, which are yet to 
be formally adopted.2  In addition, Members at the Hong Ko ng Ministerial Conference adopted five 
decisions in favour of the LDCs.3 
Ministers at Hong Kong also instructed the Special Session to expeditiously complete the 
review of all the outstanding Agreement-specific pr oposals and report to the General Council, with 
clear recommendations for a decision.  With respect  to the 38 Category II proposals, the Special 
Session was instructed to continue to coordinate its  efforts with those bodies to ensure that work on 
the proposals is concluded and recommendations fo r a decision made to the General Council.  
Ministers also mandated the Special Session to resume work on all other outstanding issues, including on the Monitoring Mechanism.   
II. STATUS OF WORK 
Since its last report to the General Council
4, the Special Session has held four formal 
meetings (30 March, 23 July, 15 October and 14 December 2009)5 and a large number of informal 
plurilateral consultations.  Initially my intention had been to continue work in 2009 on both the 
Agreement-specific proposals and the Monitoring Mechan ism.  However, due to the lack of new ideas 
or language to take work on the Agreement-specifi c proposals forward, work in the Special Session 
has focused primarily on th e Monitoring Mechanism. 
                                                      
1 Paragraph 44 of WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1. 
2 Annex C of JOB(03)/150/Rev.2. 
3 Annex F of WT/MIN(05)/DEC. 
4 TN/CTD/23. 
5 TN/CTD/M/35 to TN/CTD/M/38 (to be issued) . TN/CTD/24 
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  Agreement-specific Proposals
 
In 2009, a number of Members raised con cerns on the minimal progress made on the 
Agreement-specific proposals and highlighted the n eed to conclude this work, including on the 
Category II proposals.  However, the Agreement-specific proposals were not addressed because I felt that in the absence of new ideas and language, a ddressing them in their current form would risk 
unravelling the progress already made.   
Up until the end of 2008, Members had been c oncentrating their efforts on six of the 16 
remaining Agreement-specific proposals, namely one proposal on Article 10.2 of the Agreement on 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreem ent), two proposals on Article 10.3 of the SPS 
Agreement and three proposals on Article 3.5 of  the Agreement on Import Licensing.  The last 
language considered on these proposals is contained in  Annex I of this report.  On five of these 
proposals, that is the proposals relating to Article  10.3 of the SPS Agreement and Article 3.5 of the 
Agreement on Import Licensing, only a few issues remain outstanding.  On the proposal relating to Article 10.2 of the SPS Agreement, differences are of  a conceptual nature and more work will be 
required before an agreement can be reached.  The remaining 10 Agreement-specific proposals that 
had been earlier set aside were not addressed in 2008 or 2009.   
On the Category II proposals, the Chairs have, as in the past, reported that there has not been 
much progress on these proposals.  This is largely due to the fact that the issues raised in some of the 
proposals form an integral part of the ongoing work in the respective bodies.  The Secretariat has been carrying out an internal process of identifying and clarifying the proposals that are being addressed as 
part of the ongoing negotiations.  This process has now been completed and on the basis of the 
information, I intend to consid er, in collaboration with the resp ective Chairpersons, how best to 
expedite progress on the proposals not being a ddressed as part of ongoing negotiations.   
Monitoring Mechanism 
 
In 2009, work focused on elements of the Monitoring Mechanism.  Discussions initially 
continued on the basis of the non-paper6 tabled by my predecessor, as well as a number of 
submissions tabled by both develope d and developing country Members.  On the basis of the ensuing 
discussions on the non-paper and submissions, on 1 May, I tabled, under my own responsibility, a 
non-paper highlighting the possible areas of convergen ce.  The non-paper divided the elements of the 
Mechanism into a Preamble, Structure, Scope and Functions and distinguished between the elements 
on which there was a greater degree of convergence from those on which further work was required.  
Subsequently, in November, on the basis of the discussions and progress made, I revised my 
non-paper which is contained in Annex II of this report.  
While Members have made some progress, further work on clarifying some of the elements 
and building on others will be necessary before an agreement can be reached on the elements of the 
Monitoring Mechanism.  Discussions  have focused on the Structure, Scope and Functions.  Members 
will revert to the Preamble once the other elemen ts of the Mechanism have fallen into place.   
With regard to the Structure, while Members agree that the Mechanism will function at two 
levels;  the technical level and when necessary, the political level; differences exist with respect to the 
sequencing of the monitoring process.  Some Memb ers would like the technical bodies to take the 
lead on the monitoring process, whereas others, while acknowledging the important role technical 
bodies can play in the monitoring process, believe that the Monitoring Mechanism should take the 
lead.  In their view, if technical bodies are to take the lead in the monitoring  process, there will be no 
value added in establishing the Monitoring Mechanis m.  On the Scope, Members are yet to agree on 
                                                      
6 Annex II of TN/CTD/23.  TN/CTD/24 
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  whether the Mechanism will monitor only S&D provi sions contained in the WTO Agreements or 
whether the monitoring will also cover those S&D provisions contained in the General Council and 
Ministerial Decisions.  On the Functions, Members are considering and building on possible elements that would form part of the Secretariat Repor t to be used in the monitoring exercise.   
III. FUTURE WORK 
In line with the mandate contained in the H ong Kong Ministerial Declaration, I intend to 
continue text-based discussions on the Monitoring  Mechanism on the basis of my revised non-paper 
contained in Annex II.  My objective is to try and conclude this work as soon as possible, keeping in 
mind the end date that Members decide for concluding the Round.   
As for the Agreement-specific proposals, I rema in ready to revert back to them as soon as 
Members put forward new ideas or language that w ill help us close the remaining gaps.  On the 
Category II proposals, I will continue to coordinate efforts with the relevant Chairs to consider how 
best to proceed in order to make progress on these proposals.  
 
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  ANNEX I 
 
Agreement-specific Proposals 
 
 (24 - 25)  SPS Agreement – Article 10.3 
 The General Council agrees that with a view to ensu ring that developing country Members are able to 
comply with the provisions of the SPS Agreement, they shall be eligible for specified, time-limited 
exceptions in whole, or in part, from the obligati ons under this Agreement.  Any developing country 
with difficulties to comply with the provisions of the SPS Agreement may request such exceptions to 
the SPS Committee.  In this regard, the SPS Co mmittee shall give [positive and] expeditious 
consideration to such a request and take a decision [as appropriate] no later than at the third meeting 
at which the request is considered and in any case within 12 months,  on any request made by such 
Members under Article 10.3 of the Agreement, ta king into account their individual financial, trade 
and development needs.  Furthermore, Members sh all facilitate the provision of technical assistance 
either bilaterally or through the appropriate intern ational organisations, if requested by a developing 
country Member in relation to its request  for a specific time-limited exception. 
 
(28-30)  Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures – Article 3.5 
 
While all Members shall endeavour to provide impor t statistics with respect to products subject to 
import licensing for the purpose of enhanced tran sparency, the General Council agrees that for 
purposes of subparagraph (a)(iv) of Article 3.5, deve loping country Members shall not be expected to 
do so in cases where this will cause them additional administrative or financial burden beyond their 
capacity.   
The General Council further agrees that: 
 (a)  Article 3.5(j) of the Agreement implies [m andatory and] non-discretionary obligations on the 
part of the Members;  and  (b)  In the allocation of licenses, special consid eration shall be accorded to existing and new 
importers of products originating in developing, and in particular  least-developed country Members. 
 
79)   Proposal by India on Article 10.2 of the SPS Agreement  
Where the appropriate level of sanitary or ph ytosanitary protection allows scope for the 
phased introduction of new sanitary or phytosanita ry measures, longer time-frames for compliance, 
not less than six months, shall be accorded, upo n request, on products of interest to developing 
country Members so as to maintain opportunities for their exports. 
 
  
 
  TN/CTD/24 
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  ANNEX II 
 
The Monitoring Mechanism 
 
 P
REAMBLE : 
 
[Recalling paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  
 
Recognizing that the Monitoring Mechanism can facilitate  achieving the objectives of making special 
and differential treatment provisions more precise , effective, and operational and thereby facilitate the 
integration of developing and least developed members into the multilateral trading system.  
 Underscoring  that the Monitoring Mechanism should strengthen [and improve] Special and 
Differential Treatment in the architecture of the WT O rules and give sufficient visibility to the 
importance of SDT [provisions][issues] in the WTO. ] 
 
S
TRUCTURE  
 
• The CTD-DS on Monitoring SDT will allow fo r a bottom-up, horizontal and transparent 
process that will enable information sharing and monitoring.  
 
• The Mechanism will allow for regular technical re views, to be convened as appropriate and/or 
at least once a year, and as necessary high level reviews of [issues related to] special and 
differential treatment (SDT) in the WTO, aimed at improving the implementation and 
effectiveness of SDT provisions. 
 
• [The Monitoring Mechanism will function at two broad levels:   
 
o At the first level, the monitoring process will take place in dedicated sessions of the 
CTD (CTD-DS). The review would take pl ace on the basis of both submissions made 
to the CTD-DS by Members, as well as on the basis of reports received from the other 
WTO bodies, to which submissions by Members can also be made.  
 o At the second level, following discussions among Members, the CTD-DS on 
Monitoring SDT shall make recommendations, if required, to be sent to the General 
Council for appropriate action(s) aiming at making the SDT provisions more precise, 
effective, and operational. ] 
 
• The structure of the Mechanism will be reviewed  in the future, the first review taking place 
after three years, and thereafter when necessar y, taking into account the actual functioning of 
the Mechanism and evolving circumstances. 
 S
COPE :  
 
[Without prejudice to the scope of the Mechanism , an illustrative list of SDT provisions to be 
monitored by the Mechanism shall be prepared and updated periodically by the Secretariat.  
 The Mechanism will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of SDT provisions in:  
 
• WTO Agreements [and WTO General Council D ecisions and Ministerial Declarations]  
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  • Annex C of Job (03)/150/Rev.2. 
 Keep under review the work on the Agreement sp ecific proposals being addressed in the CTD-SS or 
other WTO bodies in accordance to paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. ] 
 
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