RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/M/63 
29 June 2007 
 
 (07-2771) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Sixty-Third Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 25 MAY 2007  
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Shree B. C. Servansing (Mauritius)  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................2  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................................... ...3 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ...............................................................................3  
(ii) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab 
States, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf 
Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la 
Francophonie, the Common Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and th e Groupe de la Banque Africaine de 
Développement.................................................................................................................. ..........3
 
C. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES ........................3  
- PRESENTATIONS BY THE FOOD AND AGRIC ULTURE ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED 
NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ..............................................................3  
D. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE .........................................................................9  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN CO MMUNITIES ON THE AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC 
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN ) 
AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.2) ................................................9  
- COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE UNITED ST ATES ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , THE PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK 
AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND 
THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.3 AND WT /COMTD /51/ ADD.5) .............9  
- COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND 
THE PEOPLE
'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.4) ......................................................10  
- COMMUNICATION FROM BRAZIL ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.1) ..................11  WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 2  
 
  -
 COMMUNICATION FROM CHINA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.2) ..................11  
- COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
(WT//COMTD /57/ ADD.3) .................11  
- COMMUNICATION FROM PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.4) ..................11  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS 
SUBMITTED BY BRAZIL , CHINA , INDIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED 
SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
(WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.5)..............................................................................................................11  
- GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES – NOTIFICATION BY JAPAN 
(WT/COMTD /N/2/ADD.14) ..........................................................................................................12  
E. DECISION ON TRANSPARENCY FOR PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS (WT/L/672) .........13  
F. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEV ELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD /W/143/ REV.3)........................................................................................................13  
G. REVIEW OF STEPS T AKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY -FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS 
TO LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ...........................................................................................14  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES (WT/COMTD /W/149/ ADD.4) ...............................14  
H. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ................................................................................16  
(i) Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training, 1 January to 31 December 
2006 (WT/COMTD/W/157).......................................................................................................16  
(ii) Technical Cooperation Audit Repor t for 2006 (WT/COMTD/W/158)......................................16  
I. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................19  
 
 
  A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the draft agenda for the 63rd Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) was contained in document WTO/AIR/3012/Rev.1 issued on 21 May 2007.   
2. The agenda was adopted . 
3. The Chairman  said that he wished to report on the Aid for Trade meeting which had taken 
place on 27 April 2007, and which had focused on boos ting trade finance for developing countries.  
He said that Members had had a chance to meet re presentatives of international financial institutions 
(IFIs), mainly the regional development banks and the International Finance Corporation.  The latter 
ran a global network of trade finance facilitation pr ogrammes for small-scale traders and bankers in 
developing countries.  The report on the meeti ng could be found in documents WT/AFT/W/25 and 
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/1.  He informed the Committee that Members felt that trade finance facilitation 
programmes run by the IFIs were successful exam ples of Aid for Trade projects, as they were 
cost-effective – with a high leverage on the trade of developing countries.  They offered a global 
coverage for small- a nd medium-sized enterprises and sma ll banks from around the world.  The 
programmes also contained a strong technical assist ance component to allow developing countries to  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 3 
 
 
  handle their own trade financing.  It was hoped that the meeting would help strengthen existing 
contacts and build others between the IFIs a nd the donors, thereby helping to expand such 
programmes.  In the future, it was planned for the IF Is to report on any progress made to the Aid for 
Trade Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism.  
4. He also informed Members that the Second CTD Session on Aid for Trade was scheduled to 
take place on 19 June 2007, and would focus on th e Standards and Trade Development Facility, as 
well as on capacity building to facilitate trade.  Th e Third CTD Session on Aid for Trade, focusing on 
trends and priorities in infrastructure building, was scheduled to take place on 9 July 2007.  He said 
that consultations were ongoing to prepare a roadma p of work on Aid for Trade, and this would soon 
be circulated to Members.   
B. OBSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
5. The Chairman  recalled that at previous sessions of the CTD, Members agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis.  These included 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Economic 
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), th e Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the 
Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, th e Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the African 
Union (AU), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the South Centre, the Pacific Islands Forum, the United Nations Environment Progra mme (UNEP), the West African Economic and 
Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the World Intellectua l Property Organization (WIPO).  He said that, 
following the decision taken at the previous meeti ng of the Committee, the organizations had been 
invited to the present meeting.  He proposed that the organizations be invited to the next formal 
meeting of the CTD. 
6. It was so agreed
. 
(ii) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for 
Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Int ernationale de la Francophonie, the Common 
Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement 
7. The Chairman
 said that at previous meetings, the Committee had had before it a number of 
requests for observer status.  He said that if there was no change in positions to extend observer status 
to any of those applicants, then the Committee would take note and would revert to those requests at 
the next meeting.   
8. It was so agreed . 
C. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO TRADE 
AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES  
- PRESENTATIONS BY THE FOOD AND AGRIC ULTURE ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED 
NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT  
9. The Chairman  recalled that it had been agreed at the last CTD meeting that a panel discussion 
would be held at the present meeting with the pa rticipation of the Food and Agriculture Organization 
(FAO) and the World Bank.  It had also been agr eed that the United Nations Conference on Trade and 
Development (UNCTAD) would be invited to re port on the outcome of its meeting on commodities WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 4  
 
  that took place on 21 March 2007.  He informed the Committee that commodities experts from the 
World Bank had not been available to participate in the present meeting.  He, however, welcomed 
Mr. David Hallam, the Chief of the Trade Policy Se rvice in the Trade and Markets Division of the 
Economic and Social Development Department of the FAO.  He also welcomed back 
Mr. Olle Ostesson, the Officer-in-charge of the Co mmodities Branch at UNCTAD.  He said that he 
would first invite the representative of the FAO to  make his presentation, focusing on what the FAO 
was doing in the area of commodities to deal with fluctuating prices, adding value to products and 
medium to long-term strategic planning.  The representative of UNCTAD would then make his presentation, which would also deal with a new "Global Initiative on Commodities" of which 
UNCTAD was part. 
10. The representative of the FAO
 said that the FAO was concerned with the generation and 
dissemination of knowledge and s ought to contribute to development goals. Emphasis was placed on 
analysis, studies, and human and institutional capac ity building.  The organization also provided 
direct support to its members on commodity-related i ssues.  Much of the commodity-related work in 
the FAO was the responsibility of the Trade and Markets Division (formerly the Commodities and 
Trade Division), though other technical departments of the FAO also dealt with commodity issues.  
The FAO additionally collaborated in its commodities work with other international organizations, for 
example the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO 
(ITC), UNCTAD and the World Bank. 
11. He said that prices of primary commodities had been experiencing a long-term decline, of 
about two per cent per year on average in real terms.  Significant price fluctuations around the 
declining trend had also been observed.  The LD Cs as a group had been particularly affected by a 
sharp decline in their income terms of trade.  He  said that the Trade and Markets Division analyzed 
commodity price trends and variability, and al so undertook regular reviews of individual 
commodities, including the short-term and medium -term outlook for each.  All of this work was 
disseminated in various reports, a nd could also be found on the FAO website.  He also noted that a lot 
of discussion had taken place recently in the FAO's Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) on 
the subject of bio-fuels.  In this regard, he said that bio-fuel demand was having a major impact on the 
world market prices of a number of commodities, as  well as their pattern of  production.  A new FAO 
programme funded by the German gove rnment was looking at the impli cations of bio-fuel demand for 
commodity markets and food security.  The FAO had also been concerned recently with the 
phenomenon of import surges, which appeared to ha ve increased in frequency for some countries in 
recent years, and which had a major impact on pr ice variability.  Work in this area concerned 
characterizing import surges and trying to find ways  of detecting them.  He explained that the 
objective of all the initiatives he had described was to  contribute to market transparency.  The greater 
the amount of objective analytical information that  was available, the more stable markets might 
become.  He said that members of the CCP had recently indicated a strong demand for capacity 
building to help them undertake their own analysis of  price and market developments.  He added that 
it was also important to look at the behaviour of  the various funds and their impact on commodity 
markets, but relatively little work had been done in this area up to now. 
12. He went on to say that the FAO was also concerned with policies affecting commodity 
markets.  A series of technical consultations  on a commodity-by-commodity basis had been 
undertaken in recent years, looking at the impact of different types of policies, including liberalization 
policies, on each commodity and the lessons that could be learned.  The analysis had tried to identify 
the winners and losers from liberali zation and reform in the short run.  The FAO had also looked at 
some specific measures that had been proposed to  try and ameliorate th e situation regarding 
commodity price fluctuations.  For example, th e feasibility of supply management schemes was  
explored in a study which was presented at a meeti ng of the CCP.  He said that while the conclusion 
of the CCP at that meeting was that such schemes  were neither feasible nor desirable, the opposite 
conclusion was reached at a side event to the meeting in which participated a number of  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 5 
 
 
  non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  The feasib ility of risk management tools was another area 
that the FAO was looking into.  The organization was pa rt of an international task force dealing with 
this issue, in which the World Bank took the l ead.  Demand promotion schemes for commodities was 
an additional area in which the FAO participated , the most well-known example being in the tea 
sector.  In particular, the FAO had devised a te a brand and had launched a number of promotional 
schemes to stimulate demand.  The organization was currently sponsoring the international year of 
natural fibres, intended to promote demand for natural fibres. 
13. On the issue of adding value, he said that ver tical diversification capt uring value-added could 
generate growth and reduce poverty.  The Trade a nd Markets Division had undertaken a number of 
market studies for value-added products, for ex ample a recent one on non-traditional agricultural 
exports.  The study had highlighted, inter alia , the fragility of commodity markets, as well as 
concerns relating to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT).  
The FAO was also interested in competitive behavi our through global value ch ains and in exploring 
the real winners from adding value to commodities.  In  this regard, he observed that the gains did not 
always go to smallholder producers.  A new initia tive had also been launched within the FAO to 
evaluate the impact of foreign direct investme nt on the agricultural sectors and processing industries 
in developing countries.  The organization additiona lly provided technical support and training in the 
technology area, in particular with regard to the tr ansfer of processing-related technology.  The issue 
of standards and certification was also one in  which the FAO was deeply involved, and the 
organization was currently implementing a project in this area for five West African countries. 
14. With regard to the FAO's work in strategic pl anning, he said that the organization's current 
long-term analysis looked towards the year 2030.  He explained that FAO studies of this nature 
looked at the long-term prospects for commodities, a nd agriculture in general, including analyses of 
the effects of urbanization, globalization, shifti ng food consumption pattern s, technology possibilities 
and resource competition.  Medium-term outlook st udies were undertaken largely in collaboration 
with the Organization for Economic Cooperati on and Development (OECD).  The FAO also 
conducted studies on technical possibilities for di versification through a categorization by 
agro-ecological zones and by different agricultu ral production systems.  Work was additionally 
undertaken with the CFC to define medium and long-term strategies on a commodity-by-commodity 
basis.  
15. He said that the FAO additionally provided direct support to its member countries upon 
request.  The support was intended to help countries in their commodity strategy formulation and 
related policy formulation, as well as to build hum an and institutional capacity.  The organization 
worked closely with the CFC on product and market  development projects, and was also one of a 
number of organizations involved in a major project  funded by the EC with the objective of helping 
develop the commodities sector in African, Caribbe an and Pacific (ACP) countries.  The FAO was 
also involved in a number of broad regional strate gic studies relating to commodities.  For example, 
support was being provided to the African Union in a study on the potential development of a 
common market for agricultural products in Africa.  Finally, he said that the FAO participated in a 
number of regional programmes for food security, whic h looked at regional, commodity-related issues 
and policies, and which provided a background to  national commodity strategies.       
16. The representative of UNCTAD  said that the 21 March 2007 UNCTAD meeting on 
commodities had taken place as part of the 11th Session of UNCTAD's Commission on Trade in 
Goods and Services, and Commodities.  He info rmed Members that the Commission had confirmed 
the broad thrust of UNCTAD's work on commodities, in particular with respect to the need to ensure 
that small producers could access markets and be nefit from the recent surge in demand for 
commodities.  Several ways to ensure this had been discussed, including issues relating to access to 
credit, the provision of information and the impor tance of creating commodity exchanges.  He WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 6  
 
  recalled that he had discussed these and other issues during his presentation at the last meeting of the 
CTD. 
17. He said that he wished to move on to discuss a new "Global Initiative on Commodities" 
(GIC), which had come out of a meeting held in Brasilia on 7 to 11 May 2007, organized by the ACP 
Group of countries, the CFC, UNCTAD, the Un ited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and 
the Government of Brazil.  More than 200 par ticipants from governments, commodity enterprises, 
research institutions and NGOs had attended.  Th e meeting was the first preparatory event for 
UNCTAD XII, which would be held in  Accra, Ghana in April 2008.  
18. In terms of background to the meeting, he said that several LDCs, including many 
commodity-dependent countries, were unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of 
halving world poverty by 2015.  More generally, it  was impossible to eliminate poverty, achieve 
sustainable development and attain the targets of the MDGs without improving the conditions and 
prospects of commodity producers.  Many countries depended on commodities as a source of 
livelihood, employment, foreign exchange and public  revenue, and to provide the principal stimulus 
for economic growth.  Developing countries were fa cing the challenge of i ndustrializing and meeting 
the growing demands of their populations at a time when the constraints on the natural resource base 
and the environment were more severe than ever.  More than half of the commodity trade of 
developing countries was now accounted for by tr ade among these countries, with such trade 
increasing in all regions.  Developing countries also accounted for most of the growth in world commodity demand.  The challenge for developing countries was to sustain – even accelerate – the growth momentum over the coming years for economi cally, environmentally and socially sustainable 
development.  The GIC aimed to re-launch th e commodities agenda from a poverty reduction and 
development perspective, to raise the profile and understanding of the commodities problématique 
through sensitization of the international community , and to identify an international strategy for 
commodities based on coherence, governan ce and solidarity at all levels.  
19. In the context of development assistance, he sa id that the point was made at the meeting in 
Brasilia that significant improvements were require d in the quantity, quality, predictability and 
development effectiveness of development assistance  targeting the commodity sector.  In addition, 
participants at the meeting called for a reversal in  recent declines in official development assistance 
(ODA) support for agricultural development in de veloping countries, and recognized that concerted 
efforts needed to be made to provide aid fo r raising agricultural productivity, technological 
development and access to credit for farmers.  It wa s also recognized that financial assistance needed 
to be provided to commodity-dependent developi ng countries in order to build and upgrade physical 
infrastructure such as roads, ports, storage f acilities and irrigation, and to eliminate supply 
bottlenecks.  Also in the context of ODA, it was ag reed that the Aid for Tr ade initiative should assess 
the needs of commodity-dependent developing coun tries and support their diversification efforts, 
including by supporting the introduction of appropr iate technology and by setting up effective SPS- 
and TBT-related infrastructure for meeting standa rds and other market requirements and achieving 
sustainable production and processing systems.  Support was also needed to meet  the adjustment costs 
of trade reform and preference erosion, and for capacity development and trade-related technical 
assistance. 
20. On issues relating to finance, debt and earnings instability, the GIC highlighted that 
MDG-consistent debt sustainability frameworks for commodity-dependent countries required that 
export earning shortfalls be taken into account wh en designing debt-relief measures.  In addition, 
international financial and monetary policies, esp ecially exchange and interest rate policies of 
developed countries, needed to be more sensitiv e to the particular circumstances and needs of 
commodity-dependent developing countries.  Initiatives were also required to deal with the negative 
effects of the instability of commodity prices and e xport earnings.  Areas to be dealt with in this 
regard included consideration, where appropriate , of supply management schemes in the context of  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 7 
 
 
  international commodity agreements, price risk management and the esta blishment of viable 
safety-nets for small producers.  It was also emph asized that compensatory finance schemes should be 
timely, should be easy to access, should not includ e conditionalities and should include pass-through 
mechanisms to take into account the interests of producers and consumers. 
21. In the trade area, the GIC noted that a successful conclusion of the Doha Round should 
effectively address the concerns of commodity-pr oducing developing countries.  With regard to 
market access, concerns included reducing tariffs, tariff escalation and tariff peaks, as well as greater 
transparency in the application of SPS and TBT rule s in developed countries.  With respect to world 
agricultural trade reform, concerns included the timely elimination of export subsidies and a 
significant reduction in trade-distorting domestic suppor t.  Finally, with regard to policy space, the 
Brasilia meeting participants recognized that comm odity-dependent developing countries needed to 
be provided with sufficient flexibilities in undert aking commitments concer ning agricultural and 
non-agricultural trade liberalization.  These countries needed to be able to protect food security and 
rural livelihoods, promote rural development a nd provide adequate support for the building of 
productive capacity and export competitiveness. 
22. Governance issues were also treated at the mee ting in Brasilia.  Meeting participants had in 
particular called for the International Task For ce on Commodities – launched at UNCTAD XI – to be 
made operational and to be provided with sufficient resources.  Civil society initiatives to convert the 
efforts of the GIC into a popular campaign were also  encouraged, especially those aimed at improving 
the sustainability of commodity trade and improvi ng governance in commodity value chains.  There 
was a call for international commodity bodies to be st rengthened in their role of providing expertise 
and assistance to specific commodity sectors in co mmodity-dependent developing countries.  Finally, 
in view of the important role played by global en terprises in all aspects of commodity production and 
trade, it was recognized that these enterprises needed  to increase their contribution to sustainable 
development, good working conditions, rem unerative employment and poverty reduction. 
23. On supply-side issues, the GIC called on developing country governments, drawing on 
increased financial support from the international community and acting in partnership with the 
private sector where appropriate, to take steps to improve infrastructure in order to improve yields, 
reduce transaction costs, mitigate environmental and health impacts and reduce losses on products in 
transit.  Developing country governments were al so called upon to take proactive measures – both 
directly and by creating and enhancing an enabling environment – to facilitate access to land and to 
extend and improve services, quality control and veri fication procedures.  The need for developing 
country governments, research organizations and the enterprise sector to build up capacity and 
capabilities for research and development was also id entified, as was the need to tap and adapt new 
technologies to meet local requirements, build competitiveness and increase productivity.  Developing 
country governments, supported by the interna tional community, were additionally called on to 
improve the capacity of commodity producers and pr ocessors to meet product and process standards, 
whether mandatory or voluntary, and to ensure that  information about standards reached producers.  
Moreover, standard-setting bodies, whether official or  private, were asked to ensure that, in setting 
standards, the interests of developing country commodity producers were taken into account. 
24. He said that value chain issues were also high lighted in the GIC.  It was recommended that 
developing country governments,  supported by the international community, should work to 
strengthen producers' associations, incentives and la ws relating to anti-competitive behaviour as well 
as improve producer capabilities in order to make it possible for developing country producers to 
enter the world supply chain on equitable terms.   It was also agreed that developing country 
governments and the private sector should identify areas for value addition and processing of primary 
products that were internationally competitive, while importing countries were called on to remove 
barriers to trade in processed products.  Governme nts of developing count ries and Regional Economic 
Communities were asked to support, in cooperation with the private sector, the creation of effectively WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 8  
 
  functioning domestic and regional commodities markets.   Areas to be treated in this regard included 
the removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, as well as the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to 
regional trade and South-South trade, inter alia  by strengthening the Generalised System of Trade 
Preferences (GSTP) and concluding the third rou nd of the GSTP negotiations.  The international 
community and developing country governments were also asked to support the efforts of developing 
country producers to exploit the opportunities offe red by new and dynamic sectors – including special 
and niche products such as geographical appellations, fair trade and organic labels – and were also 
asked to act, along with the private sector, to improve commodity producers' access to market 
information. 
25. He went on to describe the outcome of the meeti ng with respect to the issue of finance for  
diversification and competitiveness.  He said that th e meeting participants in  Brasilia had called on the 
international community to support the establishmen t of an export diversification and productivity 
improvement fund and scale up the financial resources available to the Second Account of the CFC.  They had also agreed that developing country governments should create regulatory environments 
enabling national stakeholders to use modern finan ce and risk management instruments, and should, 
with the support of the international community , strengthen the capacity of developing country 
financial institutions to provide credit to small producers and support to small and medium 
enterprises, including through microfinance schem es and use of new forms of collateral.  The 
international community, developing country governme nts and the enterprise sector were asked to 
support the establishment of effectively functioning commodity exchanges in developing countries to reduce transaction costs, improve price discove ry mechanisms and support the development of 
domestic and regional markets.  The international community was additionally called on to encourage 
the development of South-South trade finance ins titutions and mechanisms, and to design and set up 
an appropriate mechanism to deal with the loss of  revenues that African cotton producers faced as a 
result of declines in cotton prices. 
26. Finally, on the use of resource rents, he said that the participants had recommended that 
governments of resource-rich developing countries minimize the negative effects of large resource 
in-flows on domestic inflation and relative prices.  It was further recognized that developing country 
governments should ensure a balance between the objec tive of attracting foreign direct investment and 
that of maximizing government revenues through appropriate taxation and regulatory policies.  
Developing country governments, in  cooperation with the enterprise sector and civil society, were 
also asked to strengthen the linkages between the mi neral sector and the local/regional economy with 
a view to fostering diversification.  It was also agreed that developing country governments should 
use resource rents to ensure long-term sustaina bility by replacing the depleting natural resource 
capital by investment in material and human capital. 
27. In terms of next steps, he explained that th e meeting in Brasilia was the starting point for a 
sustained initiative aimed at achieving a global consensus on addressing the critical issues for 
commodity development in developing countries.  Th e organizing agencies had agreed that the further 
elaboration and concretization of the GIC would ta ke place in an inclusive process involving all 
stakeholders.  In this regard, he said that enc ouragement would also be given to commodity-related 
initiatives undertaken by non-governmental actors,  including those conducted in cooperation with the 
private sector, international commodity bodies and inter-governmental organizations.  The GIC would 
be further elaborated in 2008 at UNCTAD XII and at the scheduled review of the Monterey 
Conference on Finance for Development, and would also be on the agenda of the 63
rd General 
Assembly of the United Nations. 
28. The Chairman  thanked the representatives of the FAO and UNCTAD for their presentations, 
and opened the floor for questions and comments.  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 9 
 
 
  29. The representative of Kenya  said that the commodities problem needed a multifaceted 
solution, and that the WTO had an important role to play in this regard.  He explained that national 
efforts could be undermined by trade barriers in im porting countries, and it was in the context of the 
negotiations in the WTO that trade barriers coul d be reduced.  His delegation considered that 
continued discussion in the CTD on the problems faced by commodity-dependent, developing 
countries was very useful, and he hoped that th e Committee might eventually agree on a list of 
recommendations in this regard.  He also suggested th at at some point it would be useful to have one 
or more presentations by private sector ins titutions working in the commodities area.    
30. The representative of the FAO  said that the points raised by Kenya were extremely pertinent. 
Trade policy issues were very si gnificant in the context of finding a solution to the commodities 
problem, and much discussion was taking place in this ar ea.  He also agreed that the private sector had 
an important role to play in the debate, since trade in commodities was undertaken by private sector 
organizations, and since private standards were also  becoming extremely important.  He said that in 
the FAO's experience as an intergovernmental orga nization, it had proven difficult at times to engage 
private sector institutions in debate, but it was something that the FAO kept working at.    
31. The representative of UNCTAD  said he agreed that trade polic y issues remained crucial to the 
commodities problem, and also agreed on the impor tance of engaging the private sector.  He 
explained that a transformation was currently taki ng place in commodities markets, where industries 
in developing countries were becoming increasingly big global players and where South-South trade in commodities was becoming increasingly important.  The same phenomenon was being observed in investment flows.  He predicted that standard -setting bodies would evolve as the importance of 
developing countries grew in international trade a nd investment.  He emphasized that policies should 
be designed to ensure that the changes taking pl ace in the global economy did not leave the smaller 
producers out of the picture, and said that engageme nt with the private sector was crucial in this 
regard. 
32. The Chairman
 said that he had noted Kenya's proposal to eventually involve one or more 
private sector institutions in the CTD's debate on commodities.  For the next meeting of the CTD, 
however, he proposed that the World Bank be i nvited to make a presentation, since commodities 
experts from the World Bank had not been availa ble to participate in the present meeting. 
33. It was so agreed .   
D. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON THE AGREEMENT ON 
TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC 
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN ) 
AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.2) 
- COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , THE PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA , AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK 
AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND 
THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.3 AND WT /COMTD /51/ ADD.5) WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 10  
 
  - 
COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN ON THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND THE PEOPLE 'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ASEAN AND 
THE PEOPLE
'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (WT/COMTD /51/ ADD.4) 
34. The Chairman  recalled that communications from the EC , the US and Japan raising questions 
on the notifications made by ASEAN and China were circulated in 2006 as documents WT/COMTD/51/Add.2, Add.3 and Add.4, respectivel y.  His predecessor in the Chair had informed 
the Committee at its 58
th Session on 6 July 2006 that the responses from ASEAN and China had been 
submitted bilaterally to each of the three Members th at had raised questions.  A number of delegations 
had then indicated their wish to see all the responses,  and were of the view that the responses should 
be circulated as a CTD document.  It had been agr eed at the last CTD meeting that he would consult 
informally with the concerned dele gations, and would report back to the CTD.  In this regard, he 
informed the Committee that the consultations he ha d undertaken to date had been quite positive, and 
he believed that the issue could be resolved soon.  
35. He said that a new communication from the United States on this matter had also been 
received, and had been circulated in document WT /COMTD/51/Add.5.  He inquired whether the US 
representative wished to introduce the communication.   
36. The representative of the United States  said that she agreed with the Chairman's assessment 
that the issue could be resolved soon.  She did not , however, wish to make a statement concerning the 
new communication, since the communication did not contain any new questions, and since the 
matter was being discussed in private consultations.  
37. The representative of China  said that ASEAN and China had some concerns with the new 
communication from the US.  He acknowledged that questions 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in document WT/COMTD/51/Add.5 were not making additional queries.  However, the position of ASEAN and 
China was that appropriate responses had already been provided to these questions, in compliance 
with the requirements of the Enabling Clause and within the notifying Members' capacity as 
developing countries.  With regard to question 2 in document WT/COMTD/51/Add.5, he said that it 
required ASEAN and China to provide the total number of tariff lines that would be duty-free under full liberalization, while the original question from th e US had only asked for the percentage of tariff 
lines that would be duty-free.  Question 2 could, ther efore, be considered a new question.  While he 
once again expressed concern with the US communicati on, he  said that ASEAN and China remained 
open to discuss the matter further in informal consultations.       
38. The representative of Malaysia
, on behalf of the ASEAN member countries, said that he 
associated himself with the inte rvention by China.  He looked forward to further discussion in 
informal consultations in order to have the matter resolved.  
39. The Chairman  proposed that he continue with his in formal consultations and report back at 
the next CTD meeting.   
40. It was so agreed .   WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 11 
 
 
  - COMMUNICATION FROM BRAZIL ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.1) 
- COMMUNICATION FROM CHINA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.2) 
- COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT//COMTD /57/ ADD.3) 
- COMMUNICATION FROM PAKISTAN ON TH E REVISED GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.4) 
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS 
SUBMITTED BY BRAZIL , CHINA , INDIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE REVISED GENERALIZED 
SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES SCHEME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
(WT/COMTD /57/ ADD.5) 
41. The Chairman  recalled that the EC had notified its revised Generalized System of Preferences 
(GSP) scheme at the 57th Session of the CTD on 11 May 2006.  Communications raising questions on 
the EC's revised GSP scheme had been received from Brazil, China, India and Pakistan and were 
circulated in documents WT/COMTD/57/Add.1 to A dd.4, respectively.  The EC's responses to the 
questions were circulated in document WT/COMTD/57/Add.5.  He said that it had been agreed at the last meeting of the CTD that the item would rema in on the agenda for the present meeting.  He 
inquired whether any Member wished to take the floor. 
42. The representative of Brazil
 said that his delegation considered that the EC had not provided 
all the information that had been requested.  His delegation was also of the view that a bilateral 
exchange of information was not sufficient to gua rantee an adequate degree of transparency for 
preferential schemes.  He said that information a nd trade data concerning the EC's scheme should be 
available universally, as was the case with other G SP schemes.  This would allow Members to assess 
the consistency, coverage and the application of criteria set out in the EC's scheme.  He indicated 
Brazil's willingness to work with Members to find a satisfactory solution to the matter.  
43. The representative of Pakistan  said that the EC's responses to questions posed in earlier CTD 
meetings were being studied in her capital.  She re marked that the EC’s claim that the new special 
incentive arrangement for sustainable developmen t and good governance ("GSP-plus") was based on 
clear, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria was not in consonance with her delegation's view.  
The scheme had some very obvious infirmities which were of immense concer n to affected domestic 
lobbies in Pakistan, and consequently to the government.  She drew the attention of Members to 
paragraph 2(a) of the Enabling Clause, which w as the paragraph which, in the context of GSP 
schemes, provided an exemption from the most-fav oured-nation (MFN) requirement for preferential 
tariff treatment accorded by developed contracting parties to products originating in developing 
countries.  She said that the MFN principle was the cornerstone of the WTO multilateral trading 
system, and observed that paragraph 2(a) did not give a carte blanche  to developed countries to 
implement their own schemes with the discretion of choosing which countries to include and which to 
exclude.  In particular, preferences had to be accorded so that they were non-discriminatory and 
non-reciprocal.  Moreover, it was required that the schemes covered by the Enabling Clause be 
designed to "facilitate and promote the trade of deve loping countries and not to raise barriers or create 
undue difficulties for the trade of any other contracti ng parties".  The EC's GSP-plus scheme failed to 
meet these provisos, and the doors to entry to the scheme were bolted and secured for new entrants.  It 
was also stated in paragraph 3(b) of the Enablin g Clause that preferences "shall not constitute an 
impediment to the reduction or  elimination of tariffs and other restrictions to trade on a 
most-favoured-nation basis".  The GSP-plus sch eme, however, acted as a strong incentive for WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 12  
 
  Members enjoying such exclusive preferences to r esist MFN liberalization.  Pakistan called for a 
debate on the EC scheme's compliance with the Enab ling Clause, and reserved the right to come back 
to the item at the next CTD meeting. 
44. The representative of the European Communities
 said that there was little more that could be 
said on the notification of the EC's revised GSP sch eme, since the scheme had already been discussed 
exhaustively in the Committee.  The EC had also enga ged in informal meetings  with delegations that 
wished to know more on the scheme.  On the tran sparency issues raised by Brazil at the present 
meeting, he believed that these were issues that  the Committee could discuss more broadly under the 
agenda item concerning the Decision on Transparency for Preferential Trade Arrangements.  He added that the EC had provided bilaterally the sp ecific information requested by Brazil. With regard 
to the points raised by Pakistan on the GSP-pl us scheme, he said that they had been discussed 
intensively in bilateral meetings between the EC  and Pakistan.  He believed that the problem 
concerned a difference of appreciation as to whethe r the GSP-plus scheme was consistent with the 
provisions of the Enabling Clause.  The EC's view was that the GSP-plus scheme did indeed comply 
with the requirements of the Enabling Clause, and di d not act as a barrier to MFN liberalization.   
45. The representative of Brazil
 said that, according to his authorities, the EC had provided the 
information requested by Brazil for the years 2004 and 2005, but 2006 data would also have been 
welcome.  He added that only data for Section IV of the Harmonized System had been provided.  He 
emphasized once again that the view of his delega tion was that the provision of information on a 
bilateral basis was an inadequate measure of tran sparency.  As a beneficiary country, Brazil did not 
have any problem having data concerning its trade w ith the EC being placed in  the public domain.  He 
also did not believe that other beneficiary count ries would have any problems in this regard. 
46. The representative of the European Communities  confirmed that 2006 data had not been 
provided to Brazil, but explained that this was becau se the EC's response had been submitted to Brazil 
in 2006, and data was therefore only available up to 2005 at the time.  In addition, he said that, as far 
as he was aware, the EC's response had provided all the information requested by Brazil, and was not 
only limited to Section IV of the Harmonized System .  Any problems that might have occurred in the 
transmission of the information could, however, easily be dealt with.            
47. The Chairman  said that the item should be maintained on the agenda for the next CTD 
meeting, since there appeared to be some outsta nding issues that needed to be dealt with.  He 
proposed that he start a process of informal consu ltations with the concerne d delegations, and report 
back to the CTD at its next meeting.   
48. It was so agreed .  
- GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES – NOTIFICATION BY JAPAN 
(WT/COMTD /N/2/ADD.14) 
49. The Chairman  said that the notification from Japan, contained in document 
WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.14, provided information on Japan's enhanced duty-free and quota-free 
(DFQF) market access to LDCs. He invited the represe ntative of Japan to introduce the notification. 
50. The representative of Japan  said that, on the basis of the decision taken at the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference on the provision of DFQF ma rket access to LDCs, Japan had been offering 
enhanced DFQF market access to LD Cs since 1 April 2007.  He said that his delegation had already 
informed all LDC delegations of the enhanced market access opportunities, which provided DFQF 
market access for an additional 1,101 products.  This  signified a coverage of 98 per cent defined at the 
tariff line level, and 99 per cent in terms of import va lue.  His delegation believed that the provision of  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 13 
 
 
  enhanced DFQF market access to LDCs was one of the most important measures that could be taken 
to facilitate the integration of this group of c ountries into the multilateral trading system.      
51. The representative of Bangladesh  thanked the delegation of Japan for the information 
provided.  It was hoped that Japan would eventually take steps to offer DFQF market access for all 
products from all LDCs.  He also urged Japan to ensu re that the preferential rules of origin for LDC 
products were simple and transparent, so as to a llow LDCs to truly benefit from the provision of 
enhanced market access.     
52. The Chairman  recalled that the CTD had agreed at its 32nd Session that any market access 
measures taken specifically in favour of LDCs unde r the Enabling Clause would be transmitted to the 
Sub-Committee on LDCs for substantive considerati on.  The Sub-Committee would then report back 
as appropriate to the CTD.  He proposed, therefore,  that the notification from Japan be transmitted for 
this purpose to the Sub-Committee on LDCs. 
53. It was so agreed .  
E. DECISION ON TRANSPARENCY FOR PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS (WT/L/672) 
54. The Chairman  recalled that at the last CTD meeting Members had a preliminary discussion on 
the 14 December 2006 General Council Decision on Transparency for Preferential Trade 
Arrangements, which was contained in document WT/L/672.  It had been agreed that the item concerning the Decision would remain on the agenda for the present meeting.  
55. He said that the General Council had requested the CTD to report back within six months on 
where discussions stood in regard to this Decision.   Time was, therefore, short, as the Committee 
would have to report at the July 2007 meeting of  the General Council.  He informed the Committee 
that since the last CTD meeting, he had been holdi ng informal consultations on the matter with some 
Members.  The consultations had brought out the point that there was a need to identify in more detail 
the parameters within which Members wished to wo rk in considering transparency for preferential 
trade arrangements notified under the Enabling Clause.  He said the proponents had informed him that 
they were working on a paper which would contain the elements of what they believed should be 
contained in Members' notifications of preferential trade arrangements.  Once the paper was ready, he 
planned to continue to work informally with Member s on the basis of this text, and to eventually have 
the matter discussed in an open-ended format.  He inquired whether Members were agreeable to his 
proposed way forward on this matter. 
56. It was so agreed
. 
F. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DE VELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD /W/143/ REV.3) 
57. The Chairman  said that, under this agenda item, the Committee had since its 54th Session been 
undertaking a review of the developmental aspects of the negotiations based on a periodically updated 
background paper prepared by the Secret ariat.  The CTD had agreed at its 59th Session to temporarily 
suspend its discussion under this agenda item, in view of the fact that the negotiations were suspended 
at the time, but had decided at the last meeting to re sume its discussion.  It was further agreed that the 
Secretariat would revise its paper on the developmen tal aspects of the Doha Round for this purpose.  
He said that the revision of the Secretariat paper had been circulated as document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.3, and opened the floor to allow the Committee to undertake its review of 
the developmental aspects of the negotiations. WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 14  
 
  58. The representative of Canada
 said that the revised paper was a useful tool to understand the 
various developmental aspects of the negotiations.  His delegation had some comments of a technical 
nature on particular aspects of the paper, designed to increase the clarity and accuracy of some text.  
The comments would be forwarded to the Secretariat.   
59. The representative of the United States  said that the paper presented the state of play of the 
negotiations and the various positions of Members in a succinct and balanced manner.  It was a useful 
document which showed the degree to which developm ent considerations permea ted all aspects of the 
work of the WTO.  Her delegation had a number of  technical comments on the paper, which would be 
forwarded to the Secretariat.    
60. The representative of th e European Communities  said that he believed the paper would be 
useful to the Committee in its discussion under this  agenda item.  He said that any comments his 
delegation might have on the paper would al so be forwarded to the Secretariat.  
61. The representative of Kenya  said that he joined other delegations in expressing appreciation 
for the Secretariat document, as it helped Memb ers understand how development issues were being 
treated in the various negotiating bodies.  As th e document had been circulated to Members only 
recently, he requested that it remain on the ag enda for the next CTD meeting to allow other 
delegations to study it in detail and provide their comments. 
62. The Chairman  said that the Secretariat paper would remain on the agenda for the next meeting 
of the Committee.  In the meantime, any comments by delegations on the pape r could be forwarded to 
the Secretariat. 
63. It was so agreed . 
G. REVIEW OF STEPS T AKEN TO PROVIDE DUTY -FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS TO 
LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES (WT/COMTD /W/149/ ADD.4) 
64. The Chairman  said that communications under this ag enda item had been received from the 
United States and Canada, and had been circulated as documents WT/COMTD/W/149/Add.4 and 
WT/COMTD/W/159 respectively.  The communica tion from Canada had only been received the 
previous day, and was not reflected in the formal  agenda of the meeting.  He invited the two 
delegations to introduce their submissions. 
65. The representative of the United States  said that, following earlier submissions by the US 
under this agenda item, the communication in document WT/COMTD/W/149/Add.4 brought 
Members' attention to the responses received from th e public to the Federal Register notice relating to 
the implementation of the Hong Kong Decision on dut y-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access for 
LDCs. Comments had been received from a wide ra nge of interested stakeholders, including from 
delegations in Geneva, government officials from capitals, embassies and other inter-governmental 
organizations, and could be found on the website of the Office of the US Trade Representative 
(USTR).  She said that posting public comments on the internet was an unusual step for her 
delegation.  However, given the global reach of inter est in this issue, her de legation believed that it 
was important to do so in order to add to the debate  in Geneva.  Interested Members were encouraged 
to visit the USTR website.  Her delegation strongly supported Annex F of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration, and was actively working to implemen t the terms of the Hong Kong Decision to achieve 
commercially meaningful market access opportuniti es for LDCs.  Her delegation was also willing to 
consult informally with any dele gation wanting to discuss the US process in more detail.      WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 15 
 
 
  66. The representative of Canada  said that, as a follow-up to Canada's intervention at the 
61st Session of the CTD in November 2006, his delegation was pleased to submit a written 
communication with details about Canada's Least-D eveloped Countries' Tariff (LDCT) Programme.  
This written communication was subsequent to  two Canadian notifications submitted in 
February 2003 and May 2004 on the same progra mme, and which were contained in documents 
WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.1 and Add.2, respectively.  Canada was submitting the present 
communication to provide background information on the LDCT programme and a description of its operation.  
67. He said that Canada's updated LDCT initiative was introduced on 1 January 2003 to help 
improve the economic growth of LDCs through trad e by eliminating tariffs and quotas on almost all 
of their exports to Canada.  Canada's LD CT initiative provided DFQF market access for 
approximately 99 per cent of produc ts originating from LDCs, including in their areas of key interest, 
for example textiles and apparel.  Document WT/C OMTD/W/159 also provided details of the rules of 
origin, which his delegation believed made it easy for LDCs to actually take a dvantage of zero tariffs 
and to access the Canadian market.  It was hoped th at Canada's rules of origin would serve as an 
example to other developed and developing count ries looking to implement DFQF schemes.  
Significantly, Canadian imports from LDCs had almo st tripled since the in itiative was introduced at 
the beginning of 2003.  His delegation hoped that th e information provided in the communication was 
helpful to Members, and looked forward to hear ing from other Members on their domestic processes 
required to implement DFQF market access, or on th eir existing programmes.  He said that since the 
communication from Canada had been circulated only recently, his delegation was willing to revert to 
it at the next meeting of the CTD. 
68. The representative of India
 said that he wished to share with the Committee the 
announcement made very recently by the Indian  Commerce Secretary that India proposed to 
introduce, in a phased manner, a DFQF scheme for LDCs in 2007. 
69. The representative of Australia  said that Australia had been providing DFQF market access 
for all products from all LDCs, with no exemptions and no phase-in periods, since 1 July 2003.  The 
notification of the scheme could be found in document WT/COMTD/N/18. 
70. The representative of Bangladesh  expressed appreciation for the information provided by 
Members on the steps they were taking, or had take n, to provide DFQF market access to LDCs.  He 
also acknowledged the transparency and simplicity of Canada's rules of origin for LDC products.  It 
was hoped that other Members would take steps to ensure that their preferential rules of origin 
provided meaningful market access to LDCs.  He urged the United States to complete its internal 
process expeditiously so that LDCs could benefit as early as possible from DF QF access in the US 
market.  He welcomed further information from India in due course on its DFQF scheme for LDCs. 
71. The representative of Lesotho , on behalf of the LDC Group, expressed appreciation for the 
information provided by various Members on the provision of DFQF market access for LDCs.  He in 
particular thanked India, as a developing country, for its announc ement, and looked forward to 
receiving further information on India's scheme.  He hoped that other developing countries would 
launch initiatives similar to India's.  He also em phasized the importance and benefits to LDCs of 
transparent and simple rules of origin in  DFQF market access schemes for LDCs.    
72. The Committee took note  of all interventions. WT/COMTD/M/63 
Page 16  
 
  H. 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING  
(i) Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training, 1 January to 31 December 2006 
(WT/COMTD/W/157) 
(ii) Technical Cooperation Audit Report for 2006 (WT/COMTD/W/158) 
73. The Chairman  said that there were two reports for consideration under this agenda item, 
namely the Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Training for 2006 – circulated as document 
WT/COMTD/W/157 – and the Technical Cooperation Audit (TCA) Report for 2006 – circulated as 
document WT/COMTD/W/158.  He proposed that the Committee consider the two reports together.  
The Secretariat would, therefore, briefly introduce the reports, after which the floor would be opened. 
74. The Director of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC)  said that the 
Annual Report on Technical Assistance and Trai ning provided a quantitative and a qualitative 
overview of the Secretariat's technical assistance and training activities undertaken in 2006.  The 
report identified a total of 48 6 Geneva- and field-based technical assistance (TA) activities, 
representing some 30,000 participant days.  While it had been possible to maintain a reasonable 
geographical balance, particular attention was give n to Africa and the LDCs.  The number of regional 
activities remained relatively stab le compared to the previous year, while the number of national 
activities increased.  This was consistent with the no tion that more targeted trade-related technical 
assistance (TRTA) was required at the national level.  As for the regional trade policy courses (RTPCs), these  continued to build on the achievement s that had been made in previous years.  The 
year 2006 was also the final year for two of the pa rtnerships which had been formed with universities 
in the context of the RTPCs.  With regard to eTra ining, he said that seven courses had been held in 
2006, involving 685 particip ants.  This represented a significant increase from 2005, and a further 
expansion could be expected in 2007.  Internship and trainee programmes also continued to be well 
appreciated.  In 2006, a total of 31 people bene fited from the Netherlands Trainee Programme, and 
108 people were recruited under various  other internship programmes.  
75. He said that the funding of TRTA activities conti nued to be an issue, as was highlighted in the 
last section of the report.  While enough funding had been available to complete the 2006 activities, at 
some points during the year the Secretariat had run into difficulties due to the unevenness and 
unpredictability in the receipt of voluntary contributio ns.  This state of affair s had persisted into 2007, 
and the Director-General had made the situation cl ear in a statement at the May 2007 General Council 
meeting.  Since then, some contributions had been  received.  However, the necessary contributions 
and pledges to reach the target of CHF 24 million by the end of June were still missing.  The 
Secretariat would shortly be convening some info rmal consultations with interested Members to 
explore options to enhance stability and predictab ility in financing TRTA activities.  This would 
include, inter alia , consideration of multi-year budgets.  Fina lly, he expressed his thanks to the many 
partner institutions, Secretariat staff and the cont ributors to the various funds, as well as to the 
Members for their understanding and guidance.        
76. The Head of the Technical Cooperation Audit Unit (TCAU)
 said that the TCA Report for 
2006 took into account the fact that a comprehens ive external review of the WTO's TRTA – the 
Strategic Review – was  conducted that year, and th at the Final Report of the Strategic Review was 
discussed at the 60th Session of the CTD in November 2006.  The 2006 TCA Report did not, 
therefore, re-examine the issues that had been covered by the Strategic Review, for example the 
WTO's comparative advantages, or the relevance an d overall efficiency of the management of the 
WTO's TRTA programme.  Instead, the TCA Report  focused on how technical assistance and its 
management performed in 2006, and how they coul d be further improved a nd strengthened in the 
future.  Performance was looked into with a view to verifying, inter alia , achievements relative to the 
objectives set out and the satisfaction of the particip ants with the results.  The process was reviewed  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 17 
 
 
  on the basis of the performance indi cators used in the previous y ear.  While the focus was not on 
finding mistakes, the TCAU was nevertheless criti cal whenever it found that something could be 
improved or changed, and areas fo r improvement throughout the TA cycle were therefore suggested.  
The TCA Report also included a number of updated lessons learned, as well as an executive summary 
which captured the main findings, conclusions and recommendations made.  He noted that the 2006 
Technical Assistance and Training Plan (TA Plan) made specific reference to the recommendations  
in the 2005 TCA Report, and that the preparation of the TA Plan for 2007 also paid attention to the TCA recommendations.   
77. He observed that the 2006 TRTA programme was similar to that delivered in earlier years.  
The similarity was explained not only in terms of size – about 500 activities, reaching more than 
14,500 people – but also by the continued high satis faction of the beneficiaries with the TRTA.  It 
appeared that the current planning system, driv en by the massive TA needs of the Members, 
encouraged the Secretariat to maximize the number of TRTA activities every year.  This led to the 
conclusion that, overall, the quantitative approach s till prevailed over a qualitative one.  More focus 
on quality might result in a lesser number of TA activities of a generic or introductory type, but the 
rest would be longer in duration and more oriented to problem-solving and capacity building.  Such an 
approach would certainly require not only the suppor t of the Members but also the exploration of new 
TA modalities and avenues, such as establishing clos e linkages between the different TRTA products.  
78. It had been found that the average duration of the workshops, seminars and other such 
activities had increased, which was in line with th e recommendations of the TCAU.  He explained 
that the longer the duration, the better the opportunity to provide more in-depth tackling of the subject 
matter and to use more exercises and other inte ractive methods.  In spite of the overall good 
assessment, however, the TCAU had found that ther e was room for further improvement in the 
planning and design phases, in the implementati on and evaluation phases, and in the frequency and 
quality of reporting about TRTA activities.  Earlier recommendations that were believed to be still 
valid were repeated for future implementation.  Regarding substance, the TCAU felt that there should 
be a more systematic approach to capacity buildin g at the national level and a better match between 
the participants' needs and the TRTA programme concerned.  This would be facilitated by the 
formulation of division-wide, consistently u sed TRTA objectives supported by indicators of 
achievement.  It was also believed that traini ng of trainers courses would further enhance the 
effectiveness of the delivery of technical assistance.  
79. He went on to refer to new information ac quired through ex-post evaluations, which had 
started the previous year.  He said that one ex-pos t evaluation looked into the impact and relevance of 
five eTraining courses on participants' work and career s, and an extract of the main findings of that 
evaluation was included in the TCA Report.  The main  conclusion in this regard was that eTraining 
was a mature product and was being further developed to become more in-depth and specialized.  As 
had been mentioned in the previous year's report,  the TCAU believed that more divisions should rely 
on eTraining by using it as a replacement for time spent on generic introduction courses.  He said that 
eTraining could also be used by divisions fo r a better selection of the participants and as a 
pre-condition to offer more in-depth technical  assistance.  The TCAU was working on ex-post 
evaluations of two trade policy courses held in 2006,  as well as of the Reference Centre programme.  
80. Finally, he said that a good results-based ma nagement should regularly utilize evaluative 
information.  He explained that the availability of such information and its di ssemination was crucial, 
and suggestions for improvements in the reporti ng and follow-up mechanism had been made.  In 
keeping the TRTA products at the high quality needed  by the Members, it was very important that  
managers also attribute high priority to plan ning, implementation, evaluation, reporting and 
systematic follow-up actions. WT/COMTD/M/63 
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  81. The representative of Nigeria
 said that his delegation agreed with the Secretariat in the 
justification for the increase in national activities, but  was of the view that the utilization rate for 
Geneva and regional programmes was higher than that for national activities.  As a result of logistical 
and funding problems, there was a limitation to the benefits the host country of a national activity 
could hope to obtain.  He wondered if the WTO could in future assist with the local costs. 
82. The representative of Lesotho , on behalf of the LDC Group, expressed the hope that TA 
activities would continue and even increase, with more training of trainers to ensure sustainability.  
He said that it was also important to ensure that the standards and quality of TA were maintained, and 
the monitoring aspect was therefore important.  He invited donors to continue to contribute to the 
WTO's TA programme, which he deemed very useful and effective.  He added that the Integrated 
Framework (IF) was a very effective mechanism fo r the integration of LDCs into the multilateral 
trading system, and noted with satisfaction the efforts that were being made to enhance it. 
83. The representative of Canada  said that his delegation looked forward to discussing TA 
funding issues during the informal consultations that would be organized by the ITTC.  He said that the annual reports on the WTO's technical assistance  and training programme continued to improve, 
but that they could still benefit from a more rigorous  results focus.  In addition to regional and 
country-level analysis, information could be provi ded on how activities were allocated in terms of 
themes and types.  It would also be useful to have an assessment of th e relationship between the 
activities delivered and the initial plan that Member s agreed to.  He said that Canada supported the 
key recommendations found in the 2006 TCA Report, and hoped that the Secretariat would take steps 
to implement the recommendations in a timely manne r.  His delegation believed that the WTO should 
continue to streamline and focus its TRTA activities,  and that it should take a deeper – not a wider – 
approach to its TRTA by reducing the number of activities and implementing them with a view to 
generating cumulative effects.  His delegation al so believed that it was possible to move beyond 
division-wide objectives and towards organization-wi de objectives.  He added that if the WTO's 
TRTA was really to be demand-driven, it was critical  that it address and respond appropriately to the 
feedback from recipients of TRTA.  In this rega rd, his delegation welcomed the introduction of the 
ex-post evaluation approach.  Finally, he said that it would be useful if the Secretariat could at some 
point provide the Committee with an update of the stat e of play with regard to the Strategic Review 
and the implementation of its recommendations. 
84. The representative of India
 said that he had a comment to make on Annex 2 of the 2006 TCA 
Report.  He observed that in terms of the sectoral  coverage of the WTO's TRTA activities, there had 
been sharp percentage declines in some areas.  For example, the percentage allocated to the advanced 
negotiations courses on the Doha Development Age nda had declined from 18.25 per cent in 2002 to 
5.83 per cent in 2006.  Similar declines could be observed in other areas, for example market access 
and TBT.  On the other hand, there had been an in crease in the percentage allocation in some areas, 
for example TRIPS and development.  He asked the Secretariat for clarification on how these changes 
had come about. 
85. The representative of Norway  said that Norway was a firm supporter of the WTO's technical 
assistance and training programme, in particular th rough its contribution to the Doha Development 
Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF).  In the view of his delegation, the WTO – and in particular 
the ITTC – contributed substantially to the efforts th at were being made to he lp integrate developing 
countries into the multilateral trading system.  He emphasized, however, the importance of TA 
activities being geared towards the need of recipien ts, and highlighted the importance of appropriate 
needs assessments.  He noted with satisfaction that  there were continued efforts to strengthen the 
needs-assessment approach, including through the Tr ade Policy Review process.  He remarked that 
partnerships with relevant or ganizations and institutions, incl uding academic institutions, created 
synergies and added value. However, it was important  for such partnerships to be coordinated and 
integrated with other relevant initiatives, including at the country level.  He observed that LDCs had  WT/COMTD/M/63 
 Page 19 
 
 
  been associated with 44 per cent of the activities, and said that Norway was in favour of providing 
continued strong priority to LDCs.  He also  expressed appreciation for the WTO's continued 
participation in the IF and its enhancement.  No rway was a strong financial supporter of the IF, and 
aimed to continue with its support.  He noted the discussions that were taking place on institutional 
changes that would allow more predictable and stab le funding for WTO TRTA.  He said that Norway 
made an effort to transfer its contribution as early as possible in the budget year, and asked other 
donors to aim for the same.  In view of the cu rrent institutional setup in Norway, however, he 
explained that his delegation might have a problem with a multi-year funding approach. 
86. The representative of Japan  said that his delegation would shortly contribute CHF 525,000 to 
the DDAGTF. 
87. The representative of Madagascar  said that her delegation s upported the statement made by 
Lesotho.  She encouraged donor countries to provide  funds on a stable basis so as to allow TRTA 
activities to continue. 
88. The representative of Korea  said that his delegation would make a contribution of 
US$350,000 to the DDAGTF.  It was hoped this cont ribution would help developing countries to 
integrate into the multilateral trading system. 
89. The representative of Bangladesh  said that his delegation supported the statement made by 
Lesotho.  In addition, he agreed with the points made by Nigeria.  He explained that LDCs in 
particular had severe problems in finding resources when national activities were hosted.  He asked 
the Secretariat to look into possible ways of providing the necessary resources to LDCs, thereby 
increasing the effectiveness of national activities. 
90. The Director of the ITTC  expressed his appreciation for the suggestions that had been made 
by Members.  The Secretariat would explore how they  could be incorporated into the next technical 
assistance and training plan.  With regard to India's query, he said that the Secretariat would provide a 
response as soon as possible. 
91. The Head of the TCAU  said that the TCAU had been wo rking to implement the ex-post 
evaluations for some time, and he was pleased that  the initiative had been launched.  Three such 
evaluations had been ongoing simultaneously, of which the one focusing on eTraining had been 
concluded.  The recommendations from the others woul d be shared with Members. With regard to the 
Strategic Review, he said that those recommendations that were easy to implement and were not of a 
policy nature had been incorporated into the 2007 TA Plan.  Internal discussions were currently 
ongoing in the Secretariat and focussed on needs asse ssment, selection of participants, outsourcing 
and partnership with other organizations. 
92. The Committee took note  of the reports and of all interventions.   
I. OTHER BUSINESS  
93. No matter was raised under "Other Business". 
94. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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