WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/ST/7 
30 November 2009 
 (09-6050) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009 Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
  
TANZANIA 
 
Statement by the Honourable Dr Mary M. Nagu
 
Ministry for Industry, Trade and Marketing  
   On behalf of the LDCs Group, let me join th e previous speakers who expressed their gratitude 
to the Swiss Federal Government and her people fo r the warm and friendly reception accorded to us 
since our arrival.  Allow me to also commend you, Chair, for the excellent arrangements made for the 
organization of the meeting as well as the Director-General and the Secretariat of the WTO for their dedications and efforts in the preparati ons of this very important Conference. 
  Indeed, this Conference should influence the course and pace of the multilateral process and 
the capacity of a rule-based, international trad ing system, which recognizes the strengths and 
weaknesses of its Members, to benefit all WTO Member States and particularly those in a 
disadvantaged economic position like LDCs.  We woul d like to express our sincere hope that this 
meeting will succeed in strengthening the multilateral trading system under the WTO and address the challenges we are currently facing as a result of the global economic and financial crisis. 
 
 The current global economic crisis which has its  origins in the advanced industrial economies 
made developing countries, especially LDCs, suffer most  from its effects;  and we also lack the means 
for countering the immediate and longer-term effects.   Our economies have been devastated because 
the poverty eradication and social development progr ammes have been negatively affected by the 
onslaught of the crisis which has also highlighted  the continued dependence of our countries on the 
export of a narrow basket of commodities. 
 
 The current financial crisis will no doubt ha ve profound, and possibly prolonged, effects on 
the LDCs, whose recent good economic performance has been heavily dependent on external factors.  
There is a real danger that the progress which has been achieved in alleviating poverty in LDCs may 
be undermined.  It is therefore crucial and urgent th at we consider ways in which we can mitigate the 
effects of this worsening global economic environm ent on developing countries, and especially LDCs.  
We therefore believe that an early and successful conclusion of the DDA, as stated before, has become imperative as a stimulus for the economies of LDCs.  Further integration of their economies in the multilateral trading system through increase d regional and global conf igurations therefore 
remains their only hope. 
 
 We must prove to the world that the WTO is a vibrant institution to reckon with, that lays the 
foundation for international trade.  We must seize  the political goodwill already garnered from the 
world leaders and translate it into real actions in a manner that will assist the Geneva process to reach 
an early conclusion of the Doha Development Ag enda (DDA) negotiations.  Conclusion of the 
DDA negotiations would deliver the needed contribution to economic recovery and demonstrate the 
benefits of the multilateral trading system of which the LDCs continue to be marginalized.  For the 
LDCs, the situation has worsened after the global economic and financial crisis.  As the world WT/MIN(09)/ST/7 
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  economy struggles to recover from the effects of the crisis, we continue to face major challenges.  
However, let me emphasize that, come whatever may, the conclusion of this Round should not come 
at the expense of the developmental components of the Round, which ensure the integration of 
developing countries, and particularly the LDCs, in  a fair, development-friendly multilateral trading 
system. 
 
 The LDCs Group reiterates that the negotiati ng process must remain multilateral and fully 
transparent, with a bottom-up approach.  Bilateral and plurilateral consultati ons may be useful in 
enhancing mutual understanding, bu t should neither replace the multilateral negotiations process, nor 
should they affect the consensus reached within  the multilateral context.  The LDCs Group is 
concerned that bilateral and plur ilateral consultations may be used  to selectively reopen stabilized 
elements of the negotiations, or to compromise th e interests of developing countries, particularly 
LDCs.   Our Group reiterates its call for an early harv est in areas where consen sus has been achieved 
for LDC-specific issues.  In view of the burden a nd heavy cost which LDCs have had to bear as a 
result of the protraction to the DDA negotiations, the Group is once again calling for operationalization of duty-free quota-free (DFQF) mark et access for LDCs;  granting of a Services 
Waiver;  implementation of SDT provisions and ambitious and e xpeditious implementation of the 
decision regarding the cotton initiative as mandated in  the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  Let 
me inform this august House that, recently, the Trade Ministers in Dar es Salaam took the position 
that there can be no conclusion of the DDA if the cotton issue is not resolved.  We also called upon 
WTO Members to agree to operationalize the co re principle of Special and Differential 
Treatment (SDT) and the development dimension of  the Doha Round of negotiations by granting all 
LDCs more preferential treatment than non-LDCs.  Our position on these issues and others such as 
Trade Facilitation, is contained in the recent LD C Ministerial Dar es Salaam Declaration Document 
WT/MIN(09)/2 dated 21 October 2009 already ci rculated to the Membership of WTO.  
LDCs continue to push for a solution to this long- standing issue to find a lasting outcome for cotton 
trade-related aspects.  We believe cotton trade -related solutions are more important than the 
development aspect of cotton and for all African LDCs.  With regard to development assistance 
aspects of cotton, we hope the mandate contained in  Paragraph 12 of the H ong Kong Declaration will 
be renewed.  We therefore urge for continued su pport from all Members of the Director-General's 
ongoing Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton and urge the Director-General to report to the 
next General Council and the subsequent 8
th WTO Ministerial Conference. 
  Similarly, the Group reiterates its call for implementation by deve lopment partners and 
Members of the provision of targeted technical and financial assistance through such mechanisms as 
EIF and Aid for Trade to facilitate industrialization and diversification of LDC economies and also to 
enable LDCs to meet their implementation obligations.   Least Developed Countries attach great impor tance to Aid for Trade and we believe the 
governance structure already established under the IF will be an essential foundation for strengthening 
the demand-side of Aid for Trade in LDCs.  It is  the Group's view that Aid for Trade should cover 
some trade capacity needs, particul arly those identified in the DTIS th at are not covered under EIF.  It 
is further hoped that the development partners s hould approach Aid for Trade with the understanding 
that the goal is to reduce poverty by helping deve loping countries, particularly LDCs, adapt to, and 
participate in, global trade.  In this regard, Aid fo r Trade can help countries to use trade as an engine 
for growth, but this assistance must be recipient dr iven and additional to ex isting development aid.  
Aid for Trade should also be free of economic c onditions, adequate, predictable and complementary 
to (and not a substitute for) better and fairer trade ru les.  We therefore urge development partners to 
implement the conclusions of the Second Global Review of Aid for Trade.   WT/MIN(09)/ST/7 
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   Another issue of serious concern to the LDCs is the cumbersome accession procedures.  The 
Guidelines for Accession adopted by the Gene ral Council in 2002 call for accelerated accession 
process in favour of LDCs through simplified and streamlined procedures.  The same has been 
emphasized in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  Accession of LDCs was also recently further advanced at the Round Table Statement of the Least Developed Countries made in Phnom Pehn 
(Kingdom of Cambodia).  That statement has also  been distributed to the WTO membership in 
Documents WT/MIN(09)/1,WT/L/769 and WT/COM TD/LDC/16 all dated 5 October 2009.  The 
LDCs Group wishes to reiterate its call for the impl ementation of the Guidelines in letter and spirit 
and urges for the establishment and adoption of an effective mechanism for fast-tracking the 
accession process for LDCs, in the context of the principle of special and differential treatment. 
 
 The LDCs Group welcomes the dialogue with acceding LDCs, which was held on 
28 May 2009, as it is viewed as an initial step toward s the right direction to reform and improve the 
LDC accession process, as mandated by Trade Mini sters' commitment to facilitate and accelerate 
LDC accession.  It is hoped that another round of dialogue on more constructive and detailed 
discussions should take place early next year.  The reason for this request is simply to build on the 
initial progress so far attained and thereby move th e process forward.  We hope  that this request will 
find the support of all WTO Members.   Regarding the non-violation and situation complaints, the LDCs Group welcomes the 
decision to extend the moratorium for Members not to initiate such complaints under the 
TRIPS Agreement.  We feel that the applicati on of a non-violation remedy might need to be 
re-examined as we are concerned the extension of the same will further imbalance the implementation 
of the TRIPS Agreement of which LDCs are not even compliant.   LDCs also welcomes the decision to maintain  the current practice of not imposing customs 
duties on electronic transmissions until it is decide d in the next session of the General Council in 
December 2011.  This gives us all more time to  digest all the issues in these discussions before 
arriving at concrete decisions.   As we plan the road ahead, we would like to  emphasize the need for an early assessment of 
the outcome of the 2009 work plan which was adopt ed soon after the summer break, preferably in the 
first quarter of 2010 and to develop a new plan to  guide the negotiators towards the conclusion of 
negotiations by 2010 as projected.   Finally, while the LDCs Group remains ready to  cooperate and engage c onstructively with the 
rest of the Membership towards the successful conclusion of the Round as soon as possible, we will in 
principle support any initiative by any Member to  strengthen the WTO provided such initiative is 
consistent with WTO rules and does not infringe th e rights, privileges and obligations of Members 
under the existing multilateral trading agreements.  
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