WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/COMTD/M/83 
2 April 2012  
 
(12-1701) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Eighty-Third Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 14, 17, 18, 25 AND 28 NOVEMBER 20111 
 
Chairman:  H. E. Dr. Anthony Mothae Maruping (Lesotho) 
 
 
A.  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ......................................................................................................... 2  
B.  OBSERVERS  .............................................................................................................................. .... 2 
(i)  Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ............................................................................... 2  
(ii)  Further consideration of 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 
Developpement ................................................................................................................. ........... 3 
C. 
BIENNIAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PLAN 2012-2013  
(WT/COMTD /W/180) .................................................................................................................... 4  
D.  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  ....................................................................... 10  
-  GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) NOTIFICATION OF CUSTOMS UNION – 
COMMUNICATION FROM CHINA , EGYPT AND INDIA (WT/COMTD /W/175) .................................. 10  
-  NOTIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION 
OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN ) AND KOREA  .............................................................. 10  
-  NOTIFICATION OF THE COMPREHENSIV E ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN INDIA AND KOREA (GOODS ) ...................................................................................... 10  
-  GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES - NOTIFICATION BY SWITZERLAND 
(WT/COMTD /N/7/ADD.4) ............................................................................................................ 15  
E.  ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTA TION OF THE HONG KONG DECISION ON DUTY -
FREE AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  ........................ 15  
F.  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  ........................................................................................................... 19  
-  EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF DEVELO PING COUNTRIES IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
AS A MEANS TO COMBAT POVERTY - COMMUNICATION FROM CUBA , ECUADOR , 
NICARAGUA , THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA AND THE BOLIVARIAN 
REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA (WT/GC/W/635  - G/C/W/650  - WT/COMTD /W/179;  
WT/GC/W/635/ ADD.1 - G/C/W/650/ ADD.1 - WT/COMTD /W/179/ ADD.1) ...................................... 19  
G.  CONSOLIDATING AND MAINSTREAMING DE VELOPMENT IN THE WORLD TRADE 
ORGANIZATION - COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN AND ARAB GROUPS 
(WT/COMTD /W/182) .................................................................................................................. 19  
H.  PARTICIPATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  IN THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM 
(WT/COMTD /W/181) .................................................................................................................. 27  
                                                      
1 The 83rd Session was reconvened on 17, 18, 25 and 28 November 2011 in order to consider agenda 
item I only. WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 2  
 
  I. 
DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2011  (WT/COMTD /W/183) ........................................................... 29  
J.  OTHER BUSINESS  ....................................................................................................................... 37  
 
  
A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman said that the draft agenda for the 83rd Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) was contained in document  WTO/AIR/3852 circulated on 2 November 2011. 
2. The agenda was adopted. 
B. OBSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
3. The Chairman recalled that, at previous sessions of the CTD, Members had agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis.  These included 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Economic Co mmunity of West African States (ECOWAS), the 
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Inte r-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, the 
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 
Programme (UNEP), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  He said th at, following the decision taken at the previous 
meeting of the Committee, the organizations had be en invited to the present meeting.  He proposed 
that these organizations be invited to the next formal meeting of the CTD. 
4. The representative of Egypt said that his delegation had highlighted at the 82nd Session the 
need to ensure the participation of intergovernme ntal organizations (IGOs) in the activities of the 
CTD.  It had been indicated that Article V of the Marrakesh Agreement emphasized that IGOs should 
be allowed to cooperate with the WT O and its subsidiary bodies.  It had also been emphasized that, in 
pursuance of the WTO's trade and development principles and objectives, the CTD should be 
permitted to collaborate with IGOs whose activities related to trade and economic development.  
5. The guidelines for granting observer status to I GOs as set out in Annex III of the CTD's rules 
of procedure had been devised with the aim of  facilitating the representation of IGOs in the 
Committee's activities.  In a trading environment that was both more integrated and more complex, it was important for specialized and regional IGOs to be fully aware of the work of the CTD.  This would allow the maintenance of coherence in estab lishing strategies, as well as synergies conducive to 
the economic development and integration of de veloping and least-developed Members into the 
multilateral trading system.  The guidelines stipulated that requests for observer status were to be considered on a case-by-case basis by each WTO body.   Therefore, the CTD had the responsibility to 
address the requests it had received.  His delegati on hoped that the Committee could proceed at the 
present meeting to consider the request made by the League of Arab States (LAS) since 1999, in 
accordance with the rules of procedur e.  Due account needed to be take n of the fact that the request 
had been submitted by an IGO that had been associat ed with the work of the Contracting Parties to 
GATT 1947.  The guidelines indicated that favourable c onsideration should be given to such requests. 
6. The representatives of Saudi Arabia and Jord an expressed support for the intervention by 
Egypt. 
7. The Chairman said that the issue being raised was closely related to the second sub-item 
under the present agenda item, which concerned requ ests for permanent observer status.  He recalled  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 3 
 
 
  that Egypt had made a proposal at the previous  meeting which essentially called for work to be 
undertaken in the CTD so as to allow an early r esolution to issues surrounding requests for observer 
status by IGOs.  He said that he wished to in form Members that he had consulted with some 
delegations on the matter after the last CTD mee ting, and that he would consult further.  His 
understanding was that those that had previously  expressed reservations continued to do so.  He 
observed that this was a broader issue.  He proposed  that the CTD revert to the requests for permanent 
observer status at its next meeting. 
8. The representative of Egypt said that Annex III of  the rules of procedure stipulated that 
requests for observer status would be considered on a case-by-case basis by each WTO body to which 
such a request was addressed.  It was clear that the CTD needed to consider observer requests along 
these lines.  His delegation wanted to see whether th e LAS could be granted observer status in the 
CTD at the present meeting.  If any Member had objections, they should voice them.  Otherwise, the CTD could take a decision on the matter. 
9. The Chairman said that he had introduced this  sub-item by proposing that the organizations 
being granted ad hoc observer status on a meeting-by- meeting basis be invited to the next meeting of 
the CTD.  On the proposal raised by Egypt on perm anent observer status, he asked whether any other 
Member wished to take the floor. 
10. The representative of Israel said that the issu e raised by Egypt was still the subject of 
consultations.  Therefore, he did not believe th at the Committee could take a decision on it at the 
present meeting. 
11. The representative of the Unite d States said that she was under the impression that the 
Committee was currently addressing the sub-ite m dealing with ad hoc observers.   
12. The Chairman confirmed that the Committee was considering the sub-item dealing with ad 
hoc observers.  However, since the two sub-items unde r the present agenda item were closely related, 
he had allowed a discussion which also concerne d the second sub-item.  He proposed that the 
Committee agree to invite the ad hoc ob servers to the next CTD meeting.  
13. It was so agreed. 
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer st atus 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 Developpement 
14. The representative of the United States indicated  that her delegation was not in a position to 
accept any new observers to the CTD at the present time. 
15. The Chairman said that there was no change in Members' positions.  He encouraged Members 
to consult amongst themselves.   
16. The representative of Egypt noted that Israel had indicated that it was still consulting on the 
request for observer status by the LAS.  In this regard, he urged Israel to provide feedback on its 
position as soon as possible.  He also asked the US to provide some detail on what its reservations were with regard to the request from the LAS.  Th is information could then be transmitted to his 
capital and to the LAS. 
17. The Committee took note of all interventions.     WT/COMTD/M/83 
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  C. 
BIENNIAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PLAN 2012-2013  (WT/COMTD /W/180) 
18. The Chairman said that the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan (TA Plan) for 
2012 and 2013 had been circulated in document WT/C OMTD/W/180.  He invited the Secretariat to 
introduce the Plan.  
19. The Director of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) said that she 
wished to start her intervention with a summary of the status of the implementation of the 2010-2011 
TA Plan.  She would then outline the main featur es of the 2012-2013 TA Plan, and would go on to 
explain how it was to be implemented and what its  key targets were.  She would also address the kind 
of monitoring and evaluation initiatives that were to  be put in place, as well as some of the challenges 
that might be expected in the implementation of the new Plan.  
20. She said that one of the achievements from  the 2010-2011 period concerned the introduction 
of the Progressive Learning Strategy (PLS).  The PLS aimed to achieve higher levels of learning, and 
ensured that Members benefitted from cumulative a nd sustainable capacity-building.  She observed 
that a remarkable contribution had been made to  both human and institutional capacity building.  
Inter-linkages between programmes, the building of synergies and the leveraging of resources through 
partnerships had been strengthened.   This had helped to ensure c oherence and effectiveness in the 
delivery of trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) by the WTO.  In terms of numbers, the Secretariat had delivered more than 700 activities.  Particular emphasis was placed on the least-developed countries (LDCs), which had benef itted from over 40 per cent of the planned TRTA.  
More than 4,000 officials had completed on-line co urses, of which 23 per cent were from LDCs.  She 
indicated that the biggest challenge in implementi ng TRTA in 2010 and 2011 related to financial and 
human resource constraints.  To deal with these constraints, more emphasis had been placed on 
partnerships, so that resources coul d be leveraged.  Travel-related expenses had also been reduced.  
21. The TA Plan for 2012 and 2013 acknowledged and took into account financial constraints.  It 
also took into account the effects of a strong Swiss fra nc and the impact of exchange rates, as well as 
the fact that previous TA Plans had been budgeted above utilization levels.  The main objective of the 
2012-2013 Plan was to enhance human and institutional  capacities in order to enable Members to take 
full advantage of the rules-based multilateral tr ading system.  One of the novelties of the Plan 
concerned the introduction of Results-Based Manage ment (RBM).  This provided the basis for 
structural monitoring and evaluation of the Secr etariat's trade capacity-building programmes.  The 
Plan also contained a log frame which the Secretariat planned to refine in cons ultation with Members.  
The Plan had been drafted in consultation with stakeholders and built on l essons learned and best 
practices from the implementation of previous TA Plans.  The activities focused on three main areas 
which concerned meeting WTO obligations, acce ssions and post-accession processes and trade 
capacity building in negotiations.  The broad s ubjects covered included WTO technical assistance and 
training, specialized and advanced technical assistance, academic support for training and 
capacity-building, training and internship pr ogrammes, e-learning and outreach activities.  
22. Another element that was new in the Plan w as the inclusion of the budget.  Based on the 
regular budget and the Doha Development Ag enda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF), the total 
anticipated budget for 2012 was CHF23.6 milli on and CHF24.3 million for 2013.  The activities 
presented in the Plan's matrix would be funded 80 per cent from the DDAGTF and 20 per cent from the WTO's regular budget.  For the WTO to be able to implement activities as of 1 January 2012, the Secretariat would need to have in hand at least 25 per cent of the overall budget by 31 December.  If 
this threshold was not met, it would be difficu lt to implement regional activities funded from the 
DDAGTF.  With regard to targets and outcomes, she explained that the Secretariat would continue to 
implement the PLS and to give priority to LDCs.  Meanwhile, the coordination of technical assistance 
was to be strengthened both internally and extern ally.  Emphasis would be placed on partnerships in 
the delivery of TA, with varying levels of involvement.   WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 5 
 
 
  23. The TA Plan provided for the delivery of approximately 700 activities - both national and 
regional - for an estimated 4,000 officials.  With  regard to reaching the targeted results, three 
outcomes had been identified.  The first was an increased participation of beneficiaries in the core 
work of the WTO and its respective bodies.  The sec ond was an increased participation to implement 
WTO Agreements and make full use of Members' right s.  The third outcome related to an increased 
participation and compliance with WTO accession pro cesses and procedures related to TRTA.  On the 
monitoring and evaluation of these outcomes, she sa id that the Secretariat had been undertaking a 
review to ensure that it had the right tools to capture  the data required.  She hoped that this exercise 
would be completed by the summer of 2012.  The S ecretariat was also establishing baseline data using 
information from previous years a nd from reports and needs assessme nts, so that it would be in a 
position to establish a starting point for monitoring and evaluation.  Performance indicators had been 
identified.  However, because of the complexity of indicator construction, the Secretariat would 
involve Members in the refinement of the indicator s provided in the log frame.  This would lead to 
more emphasis on tracking outcomes and a more effi cient management of programmes.  She observed 
that it would be necessary to ensure that there was a balance in terms of resources used for monitoring 
and evaluation and resources meant for the implementation of specific activities.   
24. With regard to the long-term impact of TA a nd capacity-building activities, she said that this 
required effective follow-up and the cooperation of beneficiary countries.   In addition, a holistic view 
had to be adopted when assessing impact.  It woul d have to be acknowledged that there were other 
providers of TA in most beneficiary countries.   For this reason, emphasis would be placed on 
partnerships.  Progress would be reported on an annu al basis and this would be complemented by a 
newsletter recording events.  She noted that there would be challenges in the implementation of the 
TA Plan.  One challenge concerned the need to  secure timely and predictable funding.  A second 
challenge was related to the need to maintain flex ibility when it came to applying the PLS, which was 
a training tool as well as a selection tool for thos e wishing to attend advanced training courses.  
Another challenge concerned the regional trade policy courses (RTPCs), which had been reduced 
from 12 to eight weeks.  One of the main reasons fo r the reduction in time was to ensure that all the 
regions were covered.  She additionally pointed to the challenge of intr oducing better tools for 
measuring results, outcomes and the impact of TA.    
25. The representative of Oman expressed apprecia tion for the WTO's TA activities.  She cited 
examples of specific activities, including activities concerning scheduling, anti-dumping and 
subsidies, and regional trade agreements (RTAs) .  She also mentioned a one-week course on WTO 
issues that had been held for Omani journalists.  She was pleased with the positive response from the 
ITTC to include in the TA Plan a workshop for parliamentarians, the private sector and other 
stakeholders.  Her delegation wa s also pleased that the Arab region had been added to the 
beneficiaries of intermediate-level activities.   Oman had on numerous occasions indicated its 
willingness to host these activities. She also expressed appreciation and support for the WTO 
internship programme, the PLS and the e-learning pr ogramme.  Finally she said that attention should 
be paid to the deadlines for requesting participan ts to register for specific activities.  Better 
coordination was needed so that these deadlines did not come during the Islamic holiday period.   
26. The representative of Cuba expressed concern with the limited time that governments had to 
nominate candidates for TA activities.  He asked if it  was possible to send out invitation letters at least 
one month before the date and inquired whether the information could be sent by e-mail as well as by 
fax.  
27. The representative of Chinese Taipei expressed s upport for the TA Plan, which set out a clear 
road map for the WTO's TA activities.  His delega tion was pleased with the introduction of RBM into 
the Plan.  He believed that RBM, in combination w ith the PLS and e-learning, would make the ITTC's 
TA activities more effective, efficient and sustaina ble.  He added that his delegation had been a 
long-term supporter of the WTO's goal of achieving cumulative and sustainable capacity building.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 6  
 
  Even though most Members were experiencing fis cal constraints because of the global economic 
crisis, his government had contri buted US$200,000 to the DDAGTF.  He hoped that this contribution 
would further upgrade the participation of devel oping countries in the multilateral trading system. 
28. The representative of Kenya indicated that reduced  training periods in the trade policy courses 
should not be seen as a reduction in the quality of the training.   
29. The representative of China noted that th e DDAGTF faced budget constraints which would 
affect the TA Plan.  Past experience had shown that  TA was vital for building capacity in developing 
countries.  Her delegation wished to reiterate it s commitment to South-South cooperation within the 
framework of the multilateral trading system.  Chin a had contributed US$400,0 00 in 2011 to help to 
establish its LDC and accession programme.  China h oped that the programme would prove beneficial 
to LDCs.  
30. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, expressed appreciation for 
the consultative process which had been undertaken on the TA Plan.  He highlighted the importance 
of a gradual implementation and a further refinement  of the PLS.  With regard to implementation, 
efforts needed to match the realities on the ground - esp ecially in the context of e-learning, where the 
facilities available in LDCs had to be taken into  account.  Another challenge lay in the area of 
resource mobilization and timely and predictable fu nding.  On this, he expressed concern over the 
declining flow of resources.  Since there seemed to be an over-reliance on the DDAGTF, he indicated 
that it would be useful if Members could focus more  on the impact in terms of quality rather than on 
the number of programmes which had been implemen ted.  He appreciated the focus on cumulative 
and sustainable capacity building and on enhancing the efficiency of the Secretariat's TRTA.  In this 
regard, he noted the approach being taken in the br oader framework of Aid for Trade.  In particular, 
he believed that the efforts being made to strengt hen the monitoring and evaluation approach in the 
Aid-for-Trade framework would also  help in the context of the monitoring and evaluation of TRTA 
programmes.  He added that the LDC Group wanted to see a positive outcome to the current exercise 
to identify the appropriate tools for an effec tive approach to monitoring and evaluation.   
31. He went on to address the issue of regional stra tegies for trade capacity building and the need 
for recognition of a specific national and regional contex t.  In this regard, he noted with appreciation 
the efforts being made to enhance synergy and part nerships in the regions.  The regional strategies 
needed to focus on enhancing capacity for the implem entation of WTO obligations.  They also needed 
to focus on assistance to countries in terms of th eir trade policy review exercises, and to support 
countries' accession-related activities, including in th e post-accession phase.  With regard to training 
programmes and internships, the LDC Group wished to see more clarity and transparency in terms of 
the criteria being used.  He also emphasized the need for broader consu ltations with relevant 
stakeholders, particularly the targeted beneficiar y countries.  He believed that the Secretariat was 
aware of some of the concerns that had been raised with regard to per diem allowances, age limits and 
other factors in relation to training programmes.  Finally, he said that he supported the Secretariat's 
call for predictable resource mobilization.  He encouraged donor countries to ensure that the 
Secretariat received the necessary 25 per cent of the resources required to begin the implementation of 
the TA Plan.  
32. The representative of Canada said that his gove rnment had recently made a commitment to 
contribute 500,000 Canadian dollars per year from 2010 to 2014. This was long-term and predictable 
support, which covered the period of the TA Plan und er consideration.  He welcomed the TA Plan's 
focus on RBM and the recognition of the need to  report on outcomes and impact over and above 
short-term activities and outputs.  He emphasized  the importance of going beyond using RBM as a 
tool for reporting, to using it as a tool for manage ment and the continual improvement of the ITTC's 
activities.  This would include adjusting programmi ng based on the results encountered.  He indicated 
his delegation's interest in suggesting various improvements to the corporate level log frame,  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 7 
 
 
  including the rationalization of outcomes and indi cators and ensuring appropriate placement of output 
and outcome statements.  To this end, he welcomed  the consultations undertaken by the Secretariat.  
He indicated that his delegation was in a position to agree to the TA Plan. 
33. The representative of the European Union expr essed her delegation's support for the TA Plan 
and its implementation.  She said that the EU's c ontribution to the budget was expected to remain at 
the same levels as in previous y ears.  The EU was keen to remain involved in the implementation of 
the RBM framework. 
34. The representative of the United States expressed  appreciation for the introduction of some 
innovations by the Secretariat in the delivery of TA.  She welcomed e-learning and the phased 
training efforts to reflect the different levels of k nowledge of the participants.  Her delegation agreed 
that the WTO should continue to give priority at tention to assisting LDCs to integrate into the 
multilateral trading system, to benefit from progressive liberalization in world trade and to participate 
fully in the negotiating process of the DDA.  She welcomed the introduction of RBM, and indicated 
that her delegation looked forward to learning mo re about how this tool was being implemented, 
particularly in the context of monitoring the use of RBM and making adjustments to the tool.   
35. Noting that budget contributions appeared to ha ve decreased, she indicated that one of the 
contributing factors was the strong Swiss franc.  Sh e said that the US had made one of its largest 
contributions to the DDAGTF, but that the amount ap peared to be less because the TA Plan provided 
figures in Swiss francs.  She asked if the Secretaria t could clarify how exchange rate effects impacted 
on its ability to deliver TRTA.  She next referred to the intensive course on trade negotiating skills, 
and in particular paragr aph 161 of the TA Plan which descr ibed running simulations using the 
"Crawford Falconer Draft Modalities for Agricultu re, Luzius Wasescha Draft Modalities for NAMA, 
2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, and the 2004  July package".  She said that her delegation 
disagreed with the notion that the course contribut ed to the objective of the DDA by engraining into 
course participants the idea that the modalities on th e table presented a credible way forward in the 
negotiations.  Instead, she indicated that it woul d be more appropriate to use the Uruguay Round, 
WTO accessions or other request and offe r models for this type of training.  Pending resolution of that 
technical issue, she said that her delegation coul d join the consensus to approve the TA Plan.  
36. The representative of Egypt said that he sought clar ification on a few points.  With regard to 
the funding of activities, he indicated that his question was similar to that of the US.  In particular, he 
wished to know more about the decrease in funding fo r the TA Plan in the context of exchange rate 
considerations.  He also wanted to know how fiscal  cutbacks had affected TA, and in which areas. In 
addition, he asked if there had been any change s concerning the participation of North African 
countries in TA activities, and any cutbacks with rega rd to regional activities for the Arab and Middle 
Eastern countries.  Finally, he wished to know mo re about the activities whic h had been cancelled, 
particularly in the context of what was stated in paragraph 148 of the TA Plan. 
37. The representative of Kuwait said that he supporte d the request by Oman to take the Islamic 
holidays into account before scheduling events.  He al so agreed with Cuba on the need to extend the 
deadline for submitting requests for participation in the various training activities.  
38. The representative of Australia said that it w as appropriate that the TA Plan focused on 
recipients, thereby ensuring that it was demand-driven  and responsive to priorities set by Members.  
He welcomed the RBM element in the Plan and indi cated that this was something that a number of 
stakeholders in the WTO's TA activities had been advo cating.  He said that RBM would strengthen all 
components of the TA cycle - from design and plan ning to implementation and reporting - and would 
lead to overall improvements in efficiency.  This w as in line with Australia's own efforts to strengthen 
its aid programme effectiveness.   WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 8  
 
  39. He said that he also wished to comment on the re gional priorities outlined in the TA Plan.  He 
welcomed the mention in the Plan of the specifi c challenges facing the Pacific region and the ongoing 
consultations which the Secretaria t had conducted with Members in the region.  Furthermore, TA and 
training activities in the Pacific need ed to be based on full consultati ons with stakeholders - including 
recipients, regional organizations and donors.  C ontinuing to ensure that Pacific Members and 
Observers were able to access the WTO's TA activiti es at levels proportional to their needs was a high 
priority for Australia.  He indicated his delega tion's support for the prioritization of post-accession 
assistance to LDCs in the region, as well as opportuniti es for Geneva-based training.  Given the Plan's 
recognition of the distinctive challenges faced in th e Pacific, he welcomed further clarification on 
which of the 27 activities planned over the two- year period in the Asia-Pacific region would 
specifically target Pacific Members and Observers.  He noted from Annex 5 of the Plan that only two 
of the activities were targeted at the Pacific, while  some involved the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.  
He sought further clarification on the extent to whic h the Pacific would be involved.  With regard to 
the budget, he noted that the clear focus was on TA and training.  On budget line F concerning "other programmes", he inquired whether fu rther detail could be provided.  
40. The representative of India said that her count ry was a strong proponent of South-South 
cooperation and had taken several initiatives to cont ribute to capacity building in other developing 
countries.  India shared the concerns about the d ecrease in resources and hoped that the quality of the 
TA programme would not be diluted.  She noted th at the economies of the Asia-Pacific region played 
an important role in world trade.  Their share accounted for nearly 30 per cent of global merchandise trade in 2009.  However, the region had a diver se mix of countries in terms of their levels of 
development and their extent of trade share.  It was made up of 17 developing countries and ten 
LDCs, which had assumed varying sets of obligations  and commitments.  Distinctive features of the 
Pacific Members and Observers included their small size - which was associated with vulnerabilities - 
their non-resident status in Geneva a nd the recently acceded status of some.  
41. Training activities in the Asia-Pacific region were beneficial to the region as a whole because 
of the substantial diffusion of knowledge and experience sharing th at occurred between countries at 
various levels of development.  She noted India' s recent experience in hos ting the three-month RTPC 
in New Delhi from 5 September to 25 November 2011.   The 25 participants came from a variety of 
countries and this diversity was highly cherished.  The 12-week course had provided the right length 
of time for the participants to get a good groundi ng on WTO issues.  A curtailment in the duration of 
the training was likely to affect the quality and content of the RTPC, which had acquired a certain 
brand value.  She added that it was a positive devel opment that the RTPC had a very high profile and 
that the WTO's Director-General, as well as the Mi nister of Commerce and Industry of India, had 
attended the opening ceremony.  She indicated that it was preferable to continue these courses over a 
12-week period.  Various options could be explored such as making the RTPC part of the regular budget of the WTO in order to provide continuity and predictability for this flagship training activity. 
42. The representative of Jordan said that the budget reductions could be understood as long as 
the main aims of TA were not compromised.  He  supported the outreach components of the TA Plan 
and the initiative to conduct trade policy courses in th e seven regions including the Arab region.  He 
also supported the call to observe the Muslim holid ays when it came to organizing TA activities.  
43. The representative of Barbados, on behalf of  the small and vulnerable economies (SVEs), 
noted the emphasis on monitoring and evaluation and the results-based approach, which had helped to 
enhance TA.  She welcomed the collaboration betw een regional agencies and specialized institutions, 
as this would also enhance the delivery of the ove rall programme.  She noted that the Aid-for-Trade 
Initiative and the ITTC's programmes were mutu ally supportive.  The focus on e-learning was 
welcomed, as was the cumulative approach to traini ng.  At the same time, she urged some flexibility 
in the cumulative approach, in light of the relativ ely short time-frames of the attachment of many 
delegates to WTO portfolios.   WT/COMTD/M/83 
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  44. The representative of the Philippines said that  her delegation was a strong supporter of the 
ITTC's initiatives.  She welcomed e-learning as a pre-re quisite for further training.  She added that she 
understood the need for some reductions in the time lines of the regional courses, but that the quality 
of the courses should not be affected.  
45. The representative of Fiji highlighted the need for more TA for Pacific countries, given the 
particular circumstances of these countries.  
46. The representative of Japan emphasized the importance of RBM.  He said that the 
Asia-Pacific region was a driving force behind worl d trade.  He welcomed further assistance to the 
region. 
47. The representative of the Pacific Islands Foru m said that Pacific countries appreciated the 
opportunities that had been offered to officials from the region.  However, he indicated that the TA 
Plan did not fully recognize that the Pacific region faced development challenges and supply-side constraints linked to small size and geographical remoteness.  He asked whether the Plan could be modified to reflect the Pacific trade context.  Future programmes could be developed with unique 
Pacific challenges in mind.  He added that Pacifi c countries would have been appreciative if a text 
box had been included in the Plan which listed their specific subjects and priorities for TA and 
training.  He cited as examples trade policy review s, post accession, services, fisheries, and trade and 
climate change.  
48. The Director of the ITTC said that the qualit y of the RTPCs would not be compromised by a 
reduction in the duration of the courses.  As a co mplementary element to the RTPCs, the ITTC was 
making further improvements to the e-learning training modules.  In particular, e-learning was being 
expanded to include level two courses.  She explaine d that the RTPCs were currently categorized as 
level two activities, and that with the reduction of the duration of the regional courses, the e-training 
courses could help to make up for the reduced time.  Also, the specific needs of the regions would be 
taken into account.   
49. Turning to the Pacific region in particular, she said that all developing countries in the Pacific 
were entitled to two national activities per year and that  LDCs in the region were entitled to three.  In 
addition, Pacific countries as well as LDCs were to be  invited to all the global activities listed in the 
Plan.  There was also a focus on post-accession needs to  be addressed at the national level.  This was 
in recognition of two LDCs - Samoa and Vanuatu - which were in the process of finalizing their WTO 
accession negotiations. Also available to the P acific countries were the WTO's internship 
programmes.  The WTO had a number of internsh ip programmes which were open to developing 
countries in general and Pacific countries in particular .  With regard to the criteria which were being 
used for internship selection, she said the ITTC had tr ied to be flexible in selecting interns and, that in 
a number of cases, the ITTC had accommodated individuals above a certain age limit.  The ITTC had also applied flexible criteria and included individu als who might not have necessarily completed all 
the on-line courses needed to qualify for an internship.  In such case s, relevant work experience was 
taken into consideration.  On training in the area  of trade negotiations skills, she said that more 
appropriate language would be used in the future.  Finally, she said that budget line F was the line 
used to pay programme staff and trainers.   
50. In response to questions concerning the impact of exchange rates and the strong Swiss franc, 
a representative of the ITTC said that the TA Plan  listed its expenditures in Swiss francs.  When 
incoming flows were in US dollars, for example, th e amounts shown were lower.  The ITTC had tried 
to look at the extent to which the lower income  flows were matched with lower payments and 
outgoing flows.  The reality was that most of the expenditures were actually in Swiss francs.  In 
particular, for any given amount received by the ITTC, approximately 80 per cent of that amount 
would be spent in Swiss francs and not in US dollars.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 10  
 
  51. The representative of Australia said that he w as interested in learning more about how TA 
activities in the Pacific had been carried out nationall y and regionally in previous years.  He indicated 
that the region had special needs,  and that Australia wished to en sure that Members in that region 
were adequately represented in the activ ities delivered by the Secretariat.  
52. The representative of the United States indicated that the concern that her delegation had 
expressed earlier was not with the language in the repor t, but rather with the actual training provided.  
The US would not block the adoption of the TA Plan, but did look forward to discussing the issue further with the ITTC.  
53. The Committee adopted the Biennial TA Plan for 2012 and 2013.  
D. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
54. The Chairman said that he wished to provide Members with a brief update on the RTAs 
notified under the Enabling Clause that were to be considered in the CTD's Dedicated Sessions on 
RTAs.  He firstly informed the Committee that the India-Malaysia Agreement was notified in 
September 2011 in document WT/COMTD/N/37.  The Secretariat had requested from the parties the 
required data to prepare the factual presentation on the Agreement.  The goods aspects of this 
Agreement would be considered in a Dedicated Session of the CTD in 2012, assuming that the data 
were received in good time.  He added that, for a number of previously-notified RTAs – namely, 
RTAs between India and MERCOSUR, India and Nepal, India and Afghanistan, and India and 
Bhutan – the full set of data needed to complete  the factual presentations had not been submitted by 
the parties.  Of these agreements, only data relati ng to India-MERCOSUR had been provided to date.  
In particular, the Secretariat had received all the necessary data from MERCOSUR, but was still 
waiting to receive some data from India.  He urged the parties to these agreements to provide the data 
as soon as possible. 
55. He also recalled that it had been mentioned in  past meetings that there were a number of 
RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause that had not b een ratified by all the parties.  Following the 
procedures of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), an RTA falling in this category 
would only be considered by the CTD after it had b een ratified by all the parties.  There were three 
RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause that fell w ithin this category, namely the Pacific Island 
Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and the 
ASEAN-India Agreement.  The parties to these agreem ents were urged to inform the Secretariat as 
soon as all ratifications are complete. 
56. The representative of Uruguay said that the members of the Latin American Integration 
Association wanted to inform the CTD that they were undertaking consultations on the question of the 
notification of agreements under the 1980 Treaty of Montevideo. 
- GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) NOTIFICATION OF CUSTOMS UNION – 
COMMUNICATION FROM CHINA , EGYPT AND INDIA (WT/COMTD /W/175) 
- NOTIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE  IN GOODS BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION 
OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN ) AND KOREA  
- NOTIFICATION OF THE COMPREHENSIV E ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN INDIA AND KOREA (GOODS ) 
57. The Chairman said that he wished to say a few words on the first three sub-items under the 
present agenda item.  With regard to the first s ub-item, which concerned the notification of the GCC 
Customs Union, he recalled that Members had expressed diverging views in past CTD meetings on  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 11 
 
 
  how to address the issues relating to the notifica tion of this Agreement under the Enabling Clause and 
GATT Article XXIV.  A communication from China,  Egypt and India titled "Systemic and specific 
issues arising out of the dual notification of th e Gulf Cooperation Council Customs Union" had been 
submitted.  The two subsequent sub-items under ag enda item D concerned the notifications of the 
ASEAN-Korea Agreement and the India-Korea Agreem ent.  These RTAs had been notified under the 
Enabling Clause and GATT Article XXIV.  Diverging views had been expressed as well on issues 
surrounding the notifications of these two Agreements. 
58. He went on to say that he had held consultations with some Members after the last CTD 
meeting.  In particular, he had met individually w ith a number of delegations that had expressed views 
on the matter.  He had also met with small groups  of Members sharing similar positions.  He believed 
that the consultations had helped him to better unders tand some of the concerns which had thus far not 
permitted consensus to be reached on the various per tinent issues.  That being said, it was clear that 
more discussions would be required before an acce ptable way forward was found.  Therefore, he 
intended to continue his consulta tions, and would welcome the participation of all Members going 
forward.  He indicated that he would look into holding an informal open-ended CTD meeting as soon 
as possible.  He believed that this would provide a forum for a frank and open discussion and help to 
take the matter to a closure.  As his consultations  would be continuing, he urged Members to refrain 
from entering into a substantive discussion at the present meeting.  
59. The representative of the United States indicated that it was best to address the sub-items 
under the present agenda item individually.  The fi rst sub-item was concerned with an incorrect 
notification, on which discussion had already take n place and had now been exhausted.  The US 
regretted to see this sub-item appear on the age nda for the present meeting.  The second and third 
sub-items concerned RTAs with dual notifications.  Because the issues were not the same, the three 
sub-items should not be discussed together. 
60. The representative of Egypt expressed appreciati on for the opportunity to once again convey 
his delegation's concerns regarding the systemic i ssues arising from RTAs with a dual notification, as 
well as its concerns on the legal and procedural in consistencies regarding th e manner in which RTAs 
notified under the Enabling Clause had been dealt with in the CTD.  He also recognized the 
Chairman's commitment to forge con sensus, and said that he looked forward to the consideration of 
the three RTAs in question, as had been proposed at  the last CTD meeting.  Making reference to the 
two rounds of consultations that the Chairman had held with China, Egypt and India, he expressed 
regret that the Members that were not in a positi on to agree on the way forward suggested at the last 
CTD meeting did not participate.  He recalled that th e consultations were being held at the request of 
these Members.  China, Egypt and India had still not received any comments from these Members on 
the specific and systemic questions that had been ra ised with respect to the consideration of RTAs 
with a dual notification status.  The three delegati ons expected that these Members would have made 
use of the consultations to provide concrete subs tantive answers and comments to the questions that 
had been raised.  He encouraged  these Members to provide their responses as soon as they were in a 
position to do so.  
61. He went on to say that the specific and system ic issues raised by China, India and Egypt 
became more crucial to address in light of four developments.  The first development concerned the 
publication of the 2011 World Trade Report (WTR), which did not shy away from venturing into controversial issues such as how the WTO could extend its purview over RTAs from co-existence to 
coherence.  He said that he wished to highlight thr ee points in this regard.  The first point related to 
what was referred to as upholding the subsidiarity pr inciple, wherein the report advocated that some 
policy areas covered by RTAs should be left for multilat eral attention.  The second point related to the 
principle of "multilateralizing regionalism" - meani ng that the application of the most-favoured-nation 
(MFN) principle should be extended to preferen ces provided under RTAs, including RTAs between 
developing and least developed countries.  The WTR suggested that this should be maintained.  The WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 12  
 
  final point was seen from the report's concluding remarks, wherein it was questioned whether RTAs 
were compatible with the WTO and whether they posed competing systems which made the task of 
creating coherence a more difficult one.  The views expressed in the report were very serious ones, 
and they substantiated the systemic questions and co ncerns that China, Egypt and India continued to 
raise with respect to how RTAs had been considered by Members in the CTD, which went beyond the 
prescribed transparency procedures.  
62. The second development related to the alarms  that some Members had been sounding with 
respect to RTAs, both in recent publications and in inte rnational fora as well as in the CRTA.  In this 
regard, the membership had been hearing about  high-quality and low-quality RTAs, with no clear 
indication or criteria that had been agreed upon to qualify such propositions.  A senior official from a 
developed Member, in a discussion paper issued  on 17 October 2011, had said that since the non-
discrimination principle was suspended in bilatera l and regional trade agreements, a world that 
allowed a round of multilateral trade negotiations to  die was a world that invited the formation of 
discriminatory trade blocs of the sort that contribut ed to the outbreak of the Second World War.  The 
paper went on to suggest that it was necessary to agree on new disciplines for WTO-consistent 
bilateral and regional trade deals.  These discip lines should not depend nor wait for the success of 
negotiations in the negotiating group on rules (NGR) or  depend on industrial tariffs, farm subsidies, 
export subsidies or anything else. 
63. The third development that had raised the profile of the specific and systemic issues stemmed 
from the ideas that had been floated by the Director-General on 6 September 2011 regarding the future of the WTO, when it had been suggested that the WTO should develop a code of conduct for 
RTA practices.  This replicated an earlier sugge stion made by the Director-General during the 
29 April 2009 General Council, when it had been i ndicated that it was difficult to see why such deep 
concessions and commitments were undertaken in the context of preferential agreements, without any 
consequences in the multilateral context.  The Director-General had observed that there were 
differences between RTAs aiming at deep regional integration and other free trade agreements and 
had suggested that Members collectively think ab out gradually "multilateralizing" concessions made 
in free trade agreements.  Moreover, in the contex t of describing the Transp arency Mechanism (TM) 
for RTAs, the Director-General had suggested that while progress had been made in transparency in 
RTAs, Members could collectively make a more mu scular use of the Mechanism.  Egypt was not 
quite clear as to what the word "muscular" suggested or how it woul d be qualified.  Nevertheless, 
such propositions could not be casually left una ttended.  Developing countries had clear positions 
with respect to improving the disciplines and procedures for the consideration of RTAs. 
64. The fourth development which substantiated the systemic issues that China, Egypt and India 
had been raising for a number of years in connec tion to the consideration of RTAs by the CTD was 
reflected in the discussions that had taken place the previous week in the CRTA over a proposal that a 
number of developed Members had submitted to expand the mandate of the CRTA on the account of 
the CTD.  The proposal aimed, inter alia , to give the Secretariat a mandate to prepare reports – other 
than the factual presentations prepared in collaborat ion with Members - to identify trends and issues 
in RTAs and to allow for a process whereby Memb ers would be assisted to identify which RTAs 
supported the multilateral trading system or otherwise.  
65. It was clear which direction some Members wished  to take.  However, before taking any steps 
to see how RTAs could be further brought within th e realm of the WTO, the WTO itself had to start 
addressing the specific and systemic issues that needed  to be resolved with respect to how Members 
had preserved the mandate of the CTD and upheld it s terms of reference, and how they had applied 
the TM for RTAs. Discussing and resolving these is sues was no longer a luxury, but a necessity.  Any 
furtherance of the WTO's mandate in this regard  would be contingent upon how these issues were 
addressed.  His delegation formally requested that the items concerning the consideration of RTAs 
with dual notification status be retained for furt her discussion at the next CTD meeting.  He hoped  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 13 
 
 
  that by that time Members would have reached c onsensus over how to appropriately consider these 
RTAs in accordance with the terms of reference, procedures and mandate of the CTD.  Finally, in 
reaction to the intervention by the US, he indicated th at it was not appropriate to refer to a notification 
as "incorrect".  
66. The representative of Japan we lcomed the Chairman's effort s to resolve the matter through 
informal consultations.  He indicated that ther e was a clear difference between the GCC Customs 
Union notification on the one hand, and the notif ications of the ASEAN-Korea Agreement and 
India-Korea Agreement on the other. 
67. The representative of India supported the interv ention by Egypt.  In India's view, the GCC 
notification issue was not different from the issues concerning the other two RTA notifications.  India 
saw all three as being part of the same complex problem that Members needed to address.  His 
delegation wanted all three sub-items to remain on the agenda until a satisfactory solution had been 
found.  He called on the Chairman to continue his informal consultations, in order to allow the CTD 
to function properly and be able to deliver on development issues. 
68. The representative of the European Union re gretted that some Members had once again 
insisted on having this discussion under the present age nda item.  From her delegation's perspective, 
there was nothing to add.  The EU believed that  the discussion had been exhausted.  Members had 
already had the opportunity to take note of the re levant notifications, make their comments on these 
notifications, and even reiterate them on several occasions.  As the EU had noted in previous meetings, the problematic arising from an agreemen t being notified by each party under a different 
legal basis needed to be further clarified.  It was in this spirit that related discussions had taken place 
in the context of the review of the TM for RTAs .  Unfortunately, this problematic had taking away 
precious working time in different Committees.  Th e EU stood ready to discuss a constructive way 
forward, but not under the present agenda item.  She also indicated that the EU would continue to 
willingly participate in informal c onsultations called by the Chairman.  
69. The representative of China said that the problem  was not simply a procedural issue dealing 
with the venue of consideration. More seriously an d fundamentally, the issue related to the legal rights 
and obligations of Members under WTO Agreements.  In China's view, the proper solution had to 
consist of a number of elements.  The first was the need to respect the rights of developing Members 
under the Enabling Clause, especially the right to invoke paragraph 2(c).  Second, the central role of the CTD on development-related issues, as stipulated in paragraph 1 of the CTD's terms of reference, 
had to be maintained and strengthened.  He recalle d that China, Egypt and India had tabled a joint 
communication in September 2010 illustrating the speci fic and systemic concerns arising out of the 
dual notification of the GCC Customs Union.  The aim was to remind Members of the complexity of 
the implications of dual notificati ons, and to trigger the necessary brai nstorming to find an appropriate 
solution.  However, he noted with disappointment  that little progress, if any, had been made.  
Numerous specific and systemic issues listed in the communication remained to be addressed.  He 
welcomed the Chairman's decision to hold further informal consultations, and urged the relevant 
Members to actively participate in the discussions.  Fi nally, he noted that, contrary to some Members, 
his delegation did not see any difference between the GCC Customs Union and the other two dual 
notifications.  China's position was that the three sub-items should be retained on the CTD's agenda 
for further discussion. 
70. The representative of Canada expressed disappoi ntment that these issues remained on the 
formal agenda, thus preventing the CTD from undert aking its regular business.  As discussions had 
amply demonstrated, the only way the issues would be resolved was through more frank discussion in informal mode.  He urged both the Chairman and those Members involved to follow this track.  He 
indicated that Canada was ready to participate in the discussion, but was of the view that these issues WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 14  
 
  were clearly not yet ripe for inclusion on the formal  agenda.  He also suggested that the CTD's agenda 
be better articulated in future to reflect the s ubstantively different nature of the sub-items.  
71. The representative of Australia expressed hi s delegation's frustration with the present 
discussion.  He noted that there were other importa nt issues of substance for the CTD to discuss, and 
this discussion had taken up too much time of the Committee's work.  He welcomed the Chairman's 
initiative to continue his informal consultations , which Australia was willing to participate in. 
72. The representative of the United States said that she wished to speak onl y on the GCC issue, 
on which the US was willing to participate in furt her consultations.  The issue of dual notifications 
concerned the RTAs TM and were being discussed el sewhere.  It was not appropriate to group these 
issues together.  She also confirmed the US' positi on that the GCC Customs Union notification under 
the Enabling Clause was incorrect.  She explained that the customs union had subsequently been 
notified under Article XXIV and was in the pipeli ne to be considered in the CRTA.  The US 
considered the issue closed and continued to request  that the item be removed from the CTD's agenda.  
The US had no quarrel with any developing country notifying a qualifying agreement under the Enabling Clause.  The Enabling Clause provided a waiver from Article I of the GATT.  If an 
agreement required a waiver from more than just  Article I, as was generally the case for customs 
unions, the parties needed the cover of Article XXI V.  This was an issue relating to WTO rules. 
73. The representative of Egypt expressed his hope that  the informal consultations to be called by 
the Chairman would focus on substance, and not on the formulation of the CTD's agenda.  The three 
sub-items under consideration should be retained on the CTD's agenda, as discussion had not been 
exhausted.  Finally, he said that the considera tion of all three RTAs notified under both the Enabling 
Clause and Article XXIV had been put on hold in the CRTA. 
74. The Chairman said that he would continue his informal consultations.  The purpose of the 
consultations was to move towards convergence. 
75. The representative of the United States said that, after having discussed the first sub-item 
under the present agenda item, the Committee should now turn to other two sub-items, which dealt 
with a different matter. 
76. The Chairman said that Members had different views as to whether the three sub-items were 
dealing with the same issue or not.  This would also be a subject for the informal consultations. 
77. The representative of the United States sought clarification as to which delegation had 
requested the three sub-items. 
78. The Chairman responded that Egypt had submitted a request in writing. 
79. The representative of Egypt said that he wished to clarify that what had been sent by his 
delegation was a communication which stated that Members had not agreed at the 82nd Session as to 
how the three RTAs in question were to be consid ered.  Accordingly, the request had been for the 
items to be retained on the CTD's agenda for the present meeting.     
80. The Committee took note of all interventions.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 15 
 
 
  - GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES - NOTIFICATION BY SWITZERLAND 
(WT/COMTD /N/7/ADD.4) 
81. The Chairman said that a notification had been received by Switzerland concerning its 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme.   The notification was contained in document 
WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.4.  He invited Swit zerland to introduce the notification. 
82. The representative of Switzerland said that, like other industrialized countries, Switzerland 
maintained a GSP scheme to grant special preferences to imports from developing countries.  
Switzerland, the EU and Norway had agreed to apply similar rules of origin for industrial products in 
their respective GSP schemes.  Switzerland had adopt ed the new rules of origin on 1 May 2011.  
These rules were characterized, inter alia , by simpler criteria which were more easily understandable 
for operators;  increased generosity, for exampl e by expanding the maximum allowed contents of 
non-originating materials;  and a differentiated and more generous treatment for LDCs.  The revision 
of the rules had been complemented  with a revision to the list of beneficiary countries of the Swiss 
GSP, which had entered into force on 1 July 2011.  The main amendments to the list concerned the 
exclusion of territories belonging to high-income  economies, and the exclusion of countries with 
which Switzerland had recently concluded free trade agreements, usually via the European Free Trade 
Area (EFTA).  In conclusion, he said that the Swiss GSP remained a scheme based on objective 
criteria.  Switzerland hoped that the two revi sions made in 2011 would allow developing and 
least-developed countries to expand their shar e of the Swiss market in the future. 
83. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, expressed appreciation for 
the revisions to the Swiss GSP scheme.  He ur ged other developed Members to similarly work 
towards improving their preferential rules of origin , particularly in the context of the Hong Kong 
Decision on duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access for LDCs.    
84. The representative of the European Union welcom ed the converging approach with respect to 
the Swiss and EU GSP schemes.  She also welcomed  the changes to the Swiss GSP rules of origin, 
which were simpler, more transparent and more development friendly, notably towards LDCs.  The 
EU called for further steps in the direction of simplification of origin certification procedures by 
operators.  This was in light of the importanc e of trade between GSP beneficiary countries, 
Switzerland and the EU, and to take into account th e fact that there was a significant volume of GSP 
beneficiaries' exports which tran sited via Switzerland into the EU. 
85. The Committee took note of the notification by Switzerland, and of all interventions.   
E. ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HONG KONG DECISION ON DUTY -FREE 
AND QUOTA -FREE MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
86. The Chairman said that an item concerning the Hong Kong Decision on DFQF market access 
for LDCs had been on the CTD's agenda since early  2006.  Under this item, delegations had provided 
information on the steps they were taking, or had already taken, to provide DFQF market access to 
LDCs.  Written communications by some Members had also been considered.  At the present 
meeting, the CTD was to undertake its sixth annual review of the implementation of the Hong Kong 
Decision, as mandated in Annex F of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
87. The representative of China said that the review of steps taken to provide DFQF to LDCs was 
an important item on the CTD's agenda.  The fact th at the Doha Round would no t be concluded by the 
end of 2011 further demonstrated the value and urgenc y of the issue.  China still firmly believed that 
the faithful implementation of the Hong Kong mandate on DFQF would not only provide the 
long-awaited support for the poorest people in the wo rld, but would also help to preserve the WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 16  
 
  credibility and relevance of the multilateral tradi ng system.  Discussions in the CTD could help 
achieve these goals. 
88. He went on to say that China had submitted th e notification of its DFQF scheme to the CTD 
and to the Council for Trade in Goods in Octobe r 2011.  He referred to documents WT/COMTD/N/39 
and its addendum, as well as to document G/C/W/656. China began implementing the scheme on 
1 July 2010, and renewed it on 1 January 2011.  Currently, the scheme covered products under 
4,788 tariff lines, accounting for 60 per cent of tota l tariff lines.  According to Chinese statistics, 
China's imports from the LDCs under the DFQF sc heme reached US$42.2 billion in 2010.  This 
accounted for 98.7 per cent of China's total imports from them.  At the recent G-20 Summit in Cannes, the Chinese President had announced that Ch ina would further open its market to the LDCs 
by extending such treatment to 97 per cent of total tariff lines in the next few years.  His delegation 
would submit an updated notification soon in or der to provide Members information about the 
scheme, especially the products on which DFQF treatment was being offered.  
89. He said that DFQF treatment, together w ith many other bilateral initiatives, had made 
important contributions to the economic and tr ade cooperation between China and the relevant 
countries.  WTO data showed that, since 2008, China had become the world's largest export 
destination for LDCs. China’s annual growth rate of imports from LDCs during the 2000-2010 period 
was 27 per cent, which was much higher than that of developed Members.  Finally, he called on the 
membership to demonstrate its firm determinati on to retain an open and fair multilateral trading 
system and its good faith in honouring its commitments towards LDCs. 
90. The representative of India said that paragra ph 47 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
encouraged developing country Members declaring themselves in a position to do so, to provide 
DFQF market access for products originating from LDCs.  The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) 
Scheme for LDCs was announced by the Prime Minist er of India in April 2008, on the occasion of the 
First India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi.  Indi a was, therefore, the first developing country to 
announce a comprehensive scheme under the DFQF mandate.  The DFTP Scheme was notified on 
12 September 2011 under paragraph 1( b) of the Transparency Mech anism for Preferential Trade 
Arrangements (PTAs).   
91. The guiding objective of the DFTP Scheme was to provide effective and substantial market 
access to products of export interest to LDCs.  The Scheme had been operational since 2008 and 
provided market access on 85 per cent of India's tota l tariff lines.  This was to be implemented over a 
five-year period, with a 20 per cent cut in each year .  A margin of preference existed on 9 per cent of 
tariff lines, and an exclusion list covered 6 per cent of India's total tariff lines.  The Scheme provided 
preferential market access on tariff lines that comp rised 92.5 per cent of the global exports of all 
LDCs.  Products of immediate interest to Afri ca which were covered included cotton, cocoa, 
aluminium ores, copper ores, cash ew nuts, cane sugar, ready-made garments, fish fillets and non-
industrial diamonds. 
92. An important aspect of the Scheme was that  it was open to all 49 LDCs, including 33 LDCs 
in Africa.  Of the 26 LDCs for which customs notif ications had been issued by the Department of 
Revenue, seven had not yet submitted the necessary info rmation regarding the agencies authorized to 
issue certificates of origin.  He urged these LDCs to  complete the remaining formalities in order to 
take advantage of the Scheme.  An increase in the coverage of the Scheme was under consideration by 
the Government of India, and a detailed analysis was being carried out to make the Scheme more 
effective.  A similar exercise was being undertaken  to make the rules of origin simpler.  India 
remained committed to improving the Scheme in order to further increase its effectiveness.  Feedback 
from LDCs was welcome in order to iron out any di fficulties they faced in taking advantage of the 
Scheme.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 17 
 
 
  93. The representative of Hong Kong, China, welcomed China's implementation of the 
Hong Kong Decision.  Noting that the Doha Round was at a critical junc ture, he shared his 
delegation's view that China's initiative offered an important boost to its trade with LDCs.  He called 
on other Members to implement the Hong Kong Decision as early as possible. 
94. The representative of Australia said that his country offered 100 per cent DFQF market access 
to LDCs.  Australia was among the first Members to take  this step in 2003.  Australia's Prime Minister 
unequivocally reaffirmed the DFQF scheme an d its 100 per cent coverage at the recent 
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth.  Importantly, the rules of origin in Australia's scheme were simple and open.  For manufactured goods, the rules recognized a good as 
produced in an LDC if allowable factory cost was not  less than 50 per cent of total factory cost, or if 
the last process of manufacture was performed in an LDC.  Australia called upon Members that were 
serious about delivering real benefits for LDCs a nd development in the WTO, including at MC-8, to 
implement similar measures consiste nt with the Hong Kong Decision. 
95. The representative of the European Union welc omed the fact that emerging economies like 
China and India were extending DFQF market acces s for LDCs, and also welcomed these Members' 
recent notifications.  The EU looked forward to recei ving further details about the exact time schedule 
and scope of these initiatives, notably from China in  the context of the recent announcements made in 
Cannes on further extensions of its scheme.  She we nt on to recall that the EU offered DFQF market 
access to all products from LDCs, expect arms.  She encouraged Members, both developed and 
developing, to move forward on DFQF in line with  the Hong Kong Decision.  The EU also supported 
transparency in this respect. 
96. The representative of Bangladesh expressed appreciation for the steps being taken by 
Members to provide DFQF market access to LDCs' pr oducts, in line with the Hong Kong Decision.  
The recent notifications by China and India were not ed.  Appreciation was also expressed to China for 
its intention to enlarge the product coverage of its DFQF scheme.  He called on China to implement 
the extension of its scheme as soon as possible.  
97. The representative of the United States said that her delegation was fully committed to 
implementing its DFQF obligations consistent with the Hong Kong Decision.  However, the US also 
believed that it was important to do so carefully, taking into account the potential impact of DFQF on 
LDCs and developing country trading partners th at already had access to the US market through 
preference programmes.  A key goal of US preference programmes was to assist LDCs and other low-income countries increase their competitiveness in the US market.  Trade preferences could help 
poor countries gain a foothold in the US market, upon which they could build and expand, including 
into other global markets.  The US recognized th at LDCs and low income countries were unique and 
that one size did not fit all.  The trade preferen ce programmes and technical assistance had therefore 
been tailored to target specific development needs.  
98. There were three sets of US trade preference programmes that benefitted LDCs.  These were 
the GSP scheme, the African Growth and Opportuni ty Act (AGOA), and the Haiti Trade Preference 
Programmes - which included the Haiti Economic  Lift Programme (HELP) Act, the Haitian 
Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Enco uragement (HOPE) Act and the Caribbean Basin 
Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).  Each trade preference programme provided duty-free access to beneficiary country products entering the US mark et under the specific tariff lines covered by the 
respective programme.  AGOA was designed to prom ote stable and sustainable economic growth in 
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).  The Haiti Trade Pr eference Programmes provided a strong commitment 
to the Western Hemisphere's only LDC.  Befo re the 2010 earthquake, Ha iti had made important 
strides in promoting growth and development, in cluding through a competitive apparel sector.  After 
the earthquake, apparel exports to the US dropped by 43 per cent compared to the previous year.  US WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 18  
 
  preferences provided measures to preserve gains made - despite massive physical damage and 
unemployment - and to encourage buyers and inv estors to stand with Haiti through the crisis. 
99. In 2010, 98.9 per cent of non-oil imports entered the US duty free from AGOA LDC 
beneficiaries.  During the same period, 99.5 per cent of all imports entered the US duty free from Haiti. Any potential negative impact on LDCs and developing country trading partners that already 
had access to the US market would need to be careful ly weighed against the potential benefits to other 
LDCs, such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, which did not currently have such access.  Structuring and 
implementing the US DFQF commitment needed to re flect US goals and varying interests across the 
full range of developing country trading partners that could be impacted either positively or 
negatively.    
100. For example, in the textiles and apparel sect or – which was perhaps the most significant 
sector in the US market with respect to LDC export opportunities – it was important to take into consideration the relative competitiveness of diffe rent LDCs.  Between 2004 and 2010, US apparel 
imports - Chapters 61 and 62 of the US' Harmonize d Tariff Schedule - from Bangladesh increased by 
105 per cent and from Cambodia by 56 per cent, even  though both were suppliers on an MFN basis.  
Bangladesh and Cambodia had also gained US market share - up by 89 per cent and 44 per cent 
respectively over the same time period.  During this period, US apparel imports from AGOA beneficiary countries dropped by 58 per cent and fr om African LDCs by 57 per cent. SSA's market 
share dropped by 61 per cent for AGOA beneficiar ies and by 60 per cent for AGOA LDCs.  This 
suggested that Bangladesh and Cambodia were far mo re competitive in the US apparel market than 
other LDCs.  Expanding market access in the appa rel sector for these competitive economies risked 
destabilizing gains made by current preference benefi ciaries, as well as other low-income countries 
that competed with Bangladesh and Cambodia in the US apparel market on an MFN basis.   
101. Of the 31 LDCs that were WTO Members, 23 were beneficiaries of AGOA or HELP.  Both 
these preference programmes provided opportunities in  the apparel sector.  Of the remaining LDCs, 
textile and apparel exports were significant portions of the export economy - more than 8 per cent of 
total exports - for only four.  The four in qu estion were Bangladesh, Cambodia, Madagascar and 
Nepal.  In other words, in what was arguabl y the most important product sector under a potential 
DFQF programme, only four countries – including two highly competitive ones – would likely witness substantial benefit from DFQF in the US ma rket, quite possibly at the expense of 23 other 
LDCs.  The apparel industry in Haiti was fragile and extremely dependent on unique provisions from 
the US.  In 2010, apparel exports accounted for 94 per cent of total exports to the US from Haiti.  This 
represented 77 per cent of Haiti’s global exports.  With unemployment of 70 per cent in Haiti, the 
apparel industry was the single largest employer, providing 28,000 jobs. 
102. In conclusion, she said that her delegation viewed  DFQF as an important part of its goals for 
the Doha Round.  The US continued to believe that  the most significant benefits would be derived 
from strong overall market opening that benefitte d all LDCs and other low-income countries by 
creating new market access into all key economies.   Until new market opportunities were achieved, 
the US believed that targeted preference progra mmes provided the most even playing field for 
accomplishing development goals.   
103. The Committee took note of all interventions.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 19 
 
 
  F. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
- EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF DEVELOPI NG COUNTRIES IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
AS A MEANS TO COMBAT POVERTY - COMMUNICATION FROM CUBA , ECUADOR , 
NICARAGUA , THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA AND THE BOLIVARIAN 
REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA (WT/GC/W/635 - G/C/W/650 - WT /COMTD /W/179; 
WT/GC/W/635/ADD.1 - G/C/W/650/ADD.1 - WT/COMTD /W/179/ADD.1) 
104. The Chairman said that a communication from Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, the Plurinational 
State of Bolivia and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was to be considered under the present 
agenda item.  The communication, titled "Effective pa rticipation of developing countries in electronic 
commerce as a means to combat poverty", was ci rculated to the General Council and the Goods 
Council, as well as to the CTD.  The CTD document reference was WT/COMTD/W/179 and 
WT/COMTD/W/179/Add.1.  He invited the proponents to introduce the communication. 
105. The representative of Cuba, on behalf of the proponents, said that the proposal enjoyed the 
support of the Informal Group of Developing Count ries (IGDC), the African, Caribbean and Pacific 
(ACP) Group, the LDC Group, GRULAC and others.  The proposal was in line with the mandate 
given at the 2009 Ministerial Conference.  In par ticular, Members had agreed to a renewed approach 
to electronic commerce (e-commerce).  It had been  agreed that proposals would have a development 
component, and would also touch on fundamental pr inciples such as non-discrimination, predictability 
and transparency.  The purpose of the present proposal was to examin e a range of difficulties that 
developing countries faced.  Recommendations had also been made for actions to be taken. 
106. The proponents believed that the proposal was clear and objective.  It demonstrated what the 
purpose of the exercise was and contained a real istic account of the use of information and 
communication technologies (ICT) in developing count ries.  The proposal touched on SMEs' limited 
access to ICT.  The proponents defended the right of non-discrimination towards all Members, and provided a series of recommendations relating to de velopment and the enhancement of participation 
in e-commerce.  The document additionally c ontained a draft decision for the WTO's Eighth 
Ministerial Conference (MC-8), to be held in De cember 2011.  This draft was being discussed in 
special meetings being organized by the Deputy Dir ector-General.  The debate in these meetings had 
been constructive, and the propone nts had demonstrated significant flexibility.  The proponents felt 
that the draft decision reflected the interests of de veloping countries, and hoped that this would also 
be the case in the final decision taken by Ministers. 
107. The Committee took note of the communication.   
G. CONSOLIDATING AND MAINSTREAMING DEVELO PMENT IN THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
- COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN AND ARAB GROUPS (WT/COMTD /W/182) 
108. The Chairman said that a communication from the African and Arab Groups titled 
"Consolidating and mainstreami ng development in the World Trade Organization" had been 
circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/182.  The communication contained a proposed decision to 
be forwarded to MC-8.  He invited the proponents to introduce the communication. 
109. The representative of Kenya, on behalf of the A frican Group, said that the proposal started by 
acknowledging the necessity of reconciling trade and development needs.  The globalization process 
and the WTO were referred to.  The communication ha d five parts.  The first part dealt with the 
question of reasserting development principles and considerations in a changing global economic 
landscape.  In this part, the communication noted  the difficulties that were being faced in the 
realization of the Doha Development Agenda (D DA) and the Millennium Development Goals, in 
particular Goal 8.  These difficulties posed cha llenges to the multilateral trading system and to WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 20  
 
  sustainable development.  In this light, the commun ication indicated that th ere was a need to keep 
under constant review the justifiable exceptions  and flexibilities granted to developing and 
least-developed Members in order to ensure their effectiveness. 
110. The second part of the communication dealt with th e revitalization of the role of the CTD.  
While the CTD was the focal point for the consider ation and coordination of work on all development 
issues in the multilateral trading system, not all de velopment-related issues or decisions taken by 
various WTO bodies were regularly reported to th e CTD.  The Committee was also not regularly 
consulted on these matters.  Against this backgrou nd, there was a need to improve intra-reporting 
procedures and to operationalize the CTD's terms of  reference to periodically review development- 
related work undertaken in other WTO bodies.  In  the third part of the communication, which 
concerned monitoring and surve illance, the communication observed that the CTD was not fully 
exploiting its mandate to consider a wide range of  development issues.  For example, since 2002 the 
Committee had not been able to report on the utilization of special and differential treatment (S&D) provisions.  In addition, there was a lack of c ontinuity in following up on the implementation of 
decisions in favour of LDCs, as well as other decisions.  
111. The fourth part of the communication was c oncerned with administering and strengthening 
the Enabling Clause.  He noted th at the CTD played a pivotal role  with regard to the rights of 
developed and least-developed Members, as prescribed in the Enabling Clause.  The final part of the communication focused on preserving the CTD's role  in implementing the TM for RTAs.  In the 
General Council Decision establishing the TM, it w as specified that the CTD was the body entrusted 
with the implementation of the Mechanism as it a pplied to RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause.  
However, it appeared that the CTD was unable to ma intain the proper application and implementation 
of the procedures established by the Mechanism.  In several cases, RTAs between developing and least-developed countries had been challenged on a prima facie basis - upon their notification - for 
having invoked the Enabling Clause. 
112. With regard to the proposed decision for MC-8  that was included in the communication, he 
said that he wished to highlight two aspects.  Fi rst, the proponents were calling for a decision to 
maintain the centrality of the CTD and to strengthe n its role as the focal point for the consideration 
and coordination of all developmen t-related activities in the WTO.  In this context, the CTD would 
submit a report, including recommendations to im prove its operation and effectiveness within the 
WTO, by the next Session of the Ministerial Conference.  Second, the CTD would regularly monitor and report on any development-related activities and issues raised in other WTO bodies.  The 
Committee would provide the necessary guidance a nd recommendations to the General Council for 
appropriate action.  He c oncluded by noting that the issues that had been raised in the communication 
were not necessarily new.  The proponents hoped that Members would consider the communication 
positively.     
113. The representative of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the Arab Group, supported the intervention 
by Kenya.  He said that developing and least-dev eloped countries faced many challenges in realizing 
the benefits of the multilateral trading system.  The LDCs in particular remained largely marginalized 
from the global economy.  Developing and least-developed countries needed the capacity to translate the benefits of the multilateral trading system  into real development outcomes and progress.  
Members were called on to consider the communication positively. 
114. The representative of Egypt expressed his delega tion's support for the interventions by Kenya 
and Saudi Arabia.  He said that the communicati on by the African and Arab Groups was the outcome 
of an intensive screening exercise that had been undertaken to identify how development concerns 
and priorities had been addressed since the establis hment of the WTO.  The communication focused 
on reforming the regular work of the CTD, on the basis of how developmental issues and concerns 
had been dealt with thus far.  It built on vari ous communications submitted by the African Group, the  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 21 
 
 
  ACP Group and the LDC Group since 2001, in which ma ny areas of concern had been raised as part 
of the CTD's regular work.  The proposal capitalized on the fact that the CTD was the focal point for 
the coordination and consideration of all development work in the WTO. 
115. The document took as its premise the numer ous challenges faced by developing and 
least-developed Members in a changing global land scape.  Since the establishment of the WTO, 
relentless efforts had been made to reconcile tr ade and development needs under the conditions of 
globalization in the 21st century.  However, the rules aff ecting developing and least-developed 
countries' participation in the multilateral trading sy stem had evolved, as had the thinking about the 
nature of trade policies supportive for development.   Over the past 16 years, several failures to 
advance the interests of the WTO's developi ng, least-developed, and small and vulnerable 
constituencies had been registered.  As a result, confidence in the multilateral trading system was 
eroding.  This had been exacerbated exponentially due to the adverse effects of various global 
economic crises and growing protectionist tendenci es.  The communication attempted to address the 
obstacles and challenges that the African and Arab Groups had faced in the WTO.  However, it did 
not aim to grant additional powers to the CTD or furt her its terms of reference.  Rather, the objective 
was to preserve the CTD's mandate, especially at a time when the development dimension of DDA 
was not merely facing a deadlock but had in fact come to a complete stop.  His delegation supported the proposal and hoped that consensus ove r the proposed decision could be reached. 
116. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that the LDCs had had 
the opportunity to interact with the proponents and had made specific comments.  Some of these 
comments had been reflected in  the communication.  The LDC Group supported the communication 
and looked forward to engaging with Members to fu rther discuss the various elements in it.  He 
observed that some LDCs might wish to ma ke further comments on the communication going 
forward.   
117. The representative of Jordan said that the centr ality of development in the DDA was the core 
rationale behind the communication.  It was logical to revitalize the CTD and instruct it to submit 
recommendations on trade and development issues.  Strengthening the role of the CTD would have a 
positive impact in pushing ahead the DDA negotia tions.  He hoped that Members would agree to 
submit the proposed decision to MC-8.   
118. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of  the ACP Group, welcomed the communication. 
She said that trade was an important engine for gr owth and development.  The WTO recognized that 
there was a need for positive effort s to ensure that developing countries, especially LDCs and SVEs, 
shared in the growth of international trade.  In  accordance with this principle, it was necessary to 
strengthen the role of the CTD as a focal point for the consideration and coor dination of development-
related activities in the WTO, and to let it fulfil its  role in monitoring the development dimension of 
WTO rules and activities.  The communication raised genuine concerns and issues which needed to be 
addressed within the Committee in order to allow developing countries, especially LDCs and SVEs, 
to further integrate into the multilateral trad ing system.  The ACP Group looked forward to a 
constructive engagement on all the i ssues raised in the communication. 
119. The representative of the European Union said that the communication was rather ambitious 
in terms of legal form and substance.  She also ob served that it had been circulated just a few weeks 
before MC-8.  She noted the proponents' interest in further strengthening the role of the CTD, 
including by broadening its purview.  Her delega tion believed that such a proposal needed to be 
carefully considered, since it could reduce the purvi ew of other regular Committees, and might also 
entail a legal review of the terms of reference of  the CTD.  Because the proposal could have a legal 
and operational impact across the different fields of work of the organization, it was necessary for 
Members to have substantial discussions based on sound argumentation, and within a sufficient 
time-frame.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 22  
 
  120. Given that one of the established tasks of the CTD was to review periodically, in consultation 
with the relevant bodies of the WTO, the applica tion of special provisions in the Multilateral Trade 
Agreements, she wondered what the added value of the proposed langua ge in the communication was.  
On the specific references to RTAs, she said that  Members should avoid creating confusion regarding 
the application of the provisions established by the TM for RTAs.  This Mechanism governed the 
transparency procedures for all RTAs, which were to be similarly applied in the CRTA and in the 
CTD.  Any modification and clarification of relevant  provisions were being dealt with in the review 
process of the Mechanism.  With regard to the pr oponents' interest in looking into cross-cutting 
elements, trends and practices in RTAs affecting developing countries and LDCs, her delegation was 
of the view that this work would be more appropria tely undertaken in the context of the RTA's work 
programme that the EU and other Members were pursuing in the CRTA.  Turning to the proposals 
relating to the Monitoring Mechanism and the S& D Agreement-specific proposals, she said that the 
EU was open to discuss these as one of the DDA-related issues that could be fruitfully negotiated in 2012.  
121. She concluded by noting that her delegation was open to discuss proposals to revitalize the 
CTD. The EU believed that it was important that the CTD's agenda contained up to date issues 
relevant to development, especially for the be nefit of LDCs and other weak and vulnerable 
economies. 
122. The representative of Ecuador said that his dele gation agreed with the importance that the 
proponents attached to preserving and making eff ective the CTD's mandate.  His delegation believed 
that the revitalization of the CTD would have a pos itive impact on international trade and would also 
ensure the proper functioning of the multilateral trading system.   
123. The representative of Argentina said that it was important to re-evaluate and revitalize the 
CTD's activities. It was also necessary to emphasize  that the CTD was the appropriate forum for the 
consideration of RTAs notified under the En abling Clause.  He expressed support for the 
communication.     
124. The representative of India congratulated the proponents for having put forward a 
comprehensive proposal for MC-8.  The proposal  - which addressed development issues in the 
multilateral trading system - had come at a time when developing countries had begun to realize the 
futility of the WTO in addressing their concerns.  Deve loping countries felt that the system remained 
unbalanced and biased in favour of the developed co untries.  The proposal highlighted the importance 
of mainstreaming development issues into the global architecture of trade, so  as to ensure that these 
critical issues were not put aside.  The focus of  the proposal was on strengthening the development 
pillar in the multilateral trading system - and in part icular the CTD, which was the focal point for the 
consideration and coordination of work on all development issues in the system.  The communication 
had come at an opportune time, when systematic at tempts were being made from some quarters to 
undermine the role of the CTD and weaken the p illar that was supposed to protect the issues of 
interest of developing countries and LDCs.  
125. His delegation was of the view that all Members must stand united to protect the CTD and 
strengthen it further so that it would be able to deliver on its mandate.  The proposal underlined 
important issues and steps to be ta ken in this regard.  The background information put the spotlight on 
the issues of prime importance to developing countri es, and the attempts being made to undermine the 
role of the CTD.  Directions from Ministers could go a long way in not only strengthening and 
consolidating the role of CTD, but also providi ng the much needed confidence to developing 
countries about their place in the WTO.  His delegation was in consonance with the Ministerial language in the proposal.  Finally, he said that his delegation remained committed to the cause of the 
developing countries.  India had consistently ch ampioned the need for mainstreaming development  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 23 
 
 
  into the WTO and had voiced concerns over this ne glect in various WTO bodies.  It would continue to 
raise these issues in the interest of developing countries. 
126. The representative of the United States said that her delegation fully supported the integration 
of developing countries into the multilateral tradi ng system.  She noted, however, that Members were 
not fully exploiting the current mandate of th e CTD.  While the Committee was experiencing 
difficulties on some issues at the present time, she indicated that this should not overshadow the good 
work that was being done in other areas, for exam ple on the Transparency Mechanism for PTAs.  The 
US was impressed with the increasing participation of  developing countries in international trade, as 
laid out in the Secretariat paper that would be discussed under agenda item H.  This implied that 
developing countries were faring well in the current system. 
127. She referred to paragraph 3 of the communica tion, which suggested that the CTD had not 
been consulted on a range of deve lopment-related issues that had been taken up in other WTO bodies.  
In this regard, she said that th e US' understanding was that all deve loping Members could participate 
in the technical committees of the WTO.  While an issue could be referred to the CTD, the technical 
nature of some issues made it more suitable to ha ve them reviewed in a technical Committee.  She 
next turned to paragraph 5 of the communication, which noted that the CTD did not fully exploit and 
capitalize on its mandate to consid er a wide range of issues.  One example given was the CTD's 
inability to report on the utilization of S&D provisi ons. In response, she said that the issue of S&D 
was being discussed in the CTD's Special Session.  She encouraged developing countries to raise any 
concerns they may have with S&D in the Special  Session.  Moving on to paragraph 6 of the 
communication, she said that the language seemed to  indicate that the Monitoring Mechanism was not 
meant to replace or duplicate work on the Agreement- specific proposals.  The US was in agreement 
with this.  However, she noted in contrast that the proposed Ministerial decision suggested that the 
discussion on the Monitoring Mechanism should take pl ace within the paramete rs of paragraph 44 of 
the Doha Declaration. 
128. She observed that paragraph 7 of the communi cation contained references to non-tariff 
barriers (NTBs) in the context of the Enabling Clause . In this regard, she said that the US' reading of 
the Enabling Clause was that there had not been an y rules established on NTBs.  Some clarification 
from the proponents was sought on this.  She added that the US fully recognized the right of developing countries to waive Article I of GATT 1994.  She also agreed with the comments made by 
the EU on the RTAs TM.  
129. She noted with concern that the communication seemed to be proposing an expansion of the 
mandate of the CTD.  The US believed that th e CTD's current mandate already provided broad 
flexibility to bring new proposals to the table.  Furt hermore, with respect to the proposal for the CTD 
to prepare additional reports, the US' view was that there was already a substantial amount of 
information in the existing CTD reports.  She ga ve as examples the LDCs market access paper that 
was prepared by the Secretariat for discussion in the Sub-Committee on LDCs, as well as the 
Secretariat paper to be considered at the present meeting under agenda item H.  The US was therefore 
reluctant at the present time to consider having any additional report in the CTD.  She suggested that 
it may be more useful to discuss existing reports in more detail.  Finally, she noted that the last 
paragraph of the proposed Ministerial decision me ntioned the Agreement-specific proposals contained 
in Annex C of the draft Cancún Ministerial Declar ation.  Since the Cancún Ministerial Declaration 
had not been adopted, the US had some concerns with this paragraph of the proposed Ministerial 
decision. 
130. The representative of El Salvador agreed with the proponents that the WTO had an important 
role to play in addressing the challenges faced by developing countries in the current economic 
climate.  Given the vast number of global cha llenges facing developing countries, his delegation 
believed that S&D provisions, as well as the initiativ es put forward to deal with them, were highly WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 24  
 
  relevant.  As a country with a small economy, El Sa lvador wished to express its interest in pushing 
forward the communication.  His delegation therefor e wished to voice its support for the objectives 
targeted by the African and Arab Groups in th e communication.  He also expressed support for the 
overall thrust of the communication, since it containe d elements and ideas that could prove beneficial 
to all developing countries. 
131. He stressed that the CTD served as the focal poi nt for the consideration and coordination of 
all development-related activities in the WTO.  Hi s delegation believed that if the Committee was to 
play its central role in development-related ac tivities in an effective manner, it was necessary to 
ensure as far as possible that there was no overlap with the functions and areas of competence of other 
WTO bodies.  He emphasized how important it was fo r the CTD to monitor ac tivities relating to the 
implementation of S&D provisions on a regular b asis and to be able to provide guidance and 
recommendations to the General Council for appropria te action.  El Salvador supported the initiative 
to establish the Monitoring Mechanism and to fi nalize pending matters so that these could be 
incorporated into the regular activities of the CTD.   He also underscored the need for the proposed 
Ministerial decision to reaffirm the CTD's role in  implementing the procedures in the RTAs TM for 
RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause.  Finally, he agreed with the proponents in highlighting the 
importance of the Agreement-specific proposals contai ned in Annex C of the draft Cancún Ministerial 
Declaration.  His delegation hoped to continue shar ing ideas with the proponents so as to clear the 
path for the adoption of the proposed decision by Ministers at MC-8. 
132. The representative of Australia said that an increasingly integrated global economy provided 
a powerful engine for poverty re duction and developmen t.  Increased openness to trade could pose 
challenges to developing countries, and these challeng es needed to be addressed.  Nevertheless, the 
linkage between an open multilateral trading system  and development was ove rwhelmingly positive.  
Australia acknowledged that an increasingly integr ated global economy alone was not enough.  Trade 
needed to be fully integrated into countries' develo pment strategies.  Many supply-side constraints and 
behind-the-border issues needed to be tackled.  Th ese were rightfully a central concern of the WTO. 
This was the framework through which Australia would examine proposals on development issues for 
MC-8.  In fact, this was the framework within wh ich Australia saw work on development in the WTO 
as a whole.  Australia would always be asking how the work of the WTO helped Members to harness 
trade for real development benefits, including th rough economic growth, poverty reduction, and the 
generation of more and be tter quality jobs.  His delegation stood ready to participate in any discussion 
on these issues. 
133. He next turned to the communication under cons ideration.  He noted that it was proposed in 
the communication that Ministers instruct the CTD to report on how it could improve its operation and effectiveness within the WTO.  There were a num ber of assertions that the CTD's work had been 
disrupted and that its mandate had been infringed upon.  Australia saw the CTD as an important 
member of the family of WTO committees, which considered a range of real and important trade and 
development issues.  Australia did not dispute that th ere remained work to be done in order to harness 
trade for development, and was open to ideas fro m Members on how the WTO could further this 
objective.  However, his delegati on was not sure that the report suggested in the communication was a 
necessary addition to the existing mandate of the CTD.  
134. Turning to the paragraphs in the proposed decision which centred on on-going discussions 
between Members on RTA notification issues, he ob served that the discussion on this matter at the 
present meeting demonstrated that the membership w as far from reaching consensus.  It was therefore 
difficult to see how Ministers could be expected to ta ke a decision at MC-8.  He also noted that the 
proposed decision had Ministers directing the CTD to submit a report on cross-cutting elements, trends and practices in RTAs among developing and least-developed Members.  Australia was not 
convinced that the work suggested for this report could not be undertaken in the CRTA.  Indeed, a 
number of developed and devel oping Members had submitted a proposal for a similar work  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 25 
 
 
  programme covering all RTAs.  His delegation was no t sure why the proponents would not want work 
on RTAs to be carried out in a holistic way so that it included all agreements.  This specific aspect of 
the proposed decision could not be supported by Au stralia.  Finally, he noted that the proposed 
decision made reference to the adoption of an  unspecified number of the Agreement-specific 
proposals found in Annex C of the draft Cancún Minist erial Declaration.  Australia remained open to 
discuss this.  However, it sought more information from the proponents on why the number of 
Agreement-specific proposals was not specified, and if any of the Cancún Agreement-specific 
proposals were a priority. 
135. The representative of Canada said that it was uncl ear that there was a need to strengthen the 
role of the CTD along the lines suggested in th e communication. More could be done under the 
existing mandate, including with respect to existing reports.  He also noted that the CTD had specific 
sessions dealing with areas such as Aid for Trad e and the Work Programme on Small Economies.  
Furthermore, the monitoring of the implementation of S&D provisions was an issue being dealt with 
in the negotiations on a Monitoring Mechanism under the ambit of the Special Session of the CTD. It 
would be premature to prejudge these discussions.  In  a related manner, Canada  had reservations with 
respect to mandating the CTD to monitor other WTO bodies.  He added that his delegation was not in 
a position to accept the text in the communication referring to paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration in relation to the Monitoring Mechanism.  This  issue remained under negotiation in the Special 
Session of the CTD, and Canada had made its positi on on the mandate clear from the start.  This had 
been reinforced by the Ambassador's Group Guiding Principles.  Finally, he said that his delegation 
was not in a position to agree to the proposed langua ge on RTAs in the communication.  In Canada's 
view, the language undermined the critical role pl ayed by the CRTA in reviewing relevant RTAs, 
thereby weakening the transparency role pl ayed by the WTO with regard to RTAs. 
136. The representative of Mexico welcomed the propone nts' initiative to revitalize the CTD.  He 
said that he did have some concerns with respect to the implications for the mandates of other WTO 
committees.  He believed that further work was required on the issues in the communication, and 
indicated his delegation's willingness to participate in discussions. 
137. The representative of Hong Kong, China, sai d that his delegation saw the CTD as an 
extremely important member of the family of WT O committees.  Hong Kong, China was interested in 
discussing specific ideas from any delegation on how the CTD could be strengthened or revitalized 
within its own mandate.  With respect to the comm unication under consideration, he indicated that 
Members should be mindful of the existing balance between the CTD and other WTO bodies which 
had their own mandate and were discharging th eir responsibilities positively and dutifully.  His 
delegation welcomed further elabor ations and clarifications by th e proponents on this aspect of their 
communication.  He also noted that the proposed Ministerial decision indicated that the CTD should 
submit a report on cross-cutting elements, tre nds and practices in RTAs among developing and 
least-developed countries.  In this regard, he i ndicated that the CRTA's mandate was unambiguous.  
Members needed to bear in mind that the pr oposed language in the communication could have 
implications on how the CRTA undertook its work within its own mandate. 
138. The representative of Cuba said that his dele gation supported the communication, which was 
in line with what was laid out in Article  IV of the Marrakesh Agreement.    
139. The representative of Chile said that she agreed with the proponents that development lay at 
the heart of the WTO's work.  Nevertheless, her delegation had some concerns with the 
communication, for example with regard to a possi ble duplication of work between WTO bodies.  She 
added that the CRTA had a clear mandate with resp ect to RTAs, and that her delegation could not 
support the proposal concerning RTAs. WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 26  
 
  140. The representative of Kenya said that the propone nts stood ready to engage with Members in 
order to move forward on the proposals made in the communication. 
141. The representative of Egypt said that his unders tanding was that the annual reports of the 
various WTO bodies needed to be submitted to the General Council by 18 November 2011.  In this 
light, he wished to know the deadline that Member s faced in order to obtain consensus on proposals 
for MC-8.  He went on to provide some reactions to the comments that had been made by Members 
on the communication.  He noted that there were different views among Members as to the ambition of the communication, and as to whether ambition w as perceived positively or not.  He added that the 
African and Arab Groups had been pursuing their in itiative for MC-8 according to the procedures laid 
out by the General Council Chairman.  In particular , the General Council Chairman had indicated that 
proposals for MC-8 needed to pass through the rele vant Committees.  If the present meeting was the 
first meeting at which Members were considering the communication, this was because this was the first CTD meeting to be held after the circulation of the communication. 
142. He said that there was no intention for the CTD to step into the mandate of other WTO 
bodies, or to duplicate work.  The proponents were more than willing to engage with interested 
Members to point out where it was felt that the CTD's terms of reference and mandate were not being 
adhered to.  He also said that paragraph 5 of th e communication referred to the regular work of the 
CTD.  In this context, the CTD had not been able  to report on the utilization of S&D since 2002.  This 
issue was different from the negotiations taking pla ce under paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration.  
With regard to the Monitoring Mechanism, he emphasi zed that the reference to it in the draft decision 
in no way pre-judged the outcome of negotiations.  He added that the 2002 decision concerning the 
Monitoring Mechanism mentioned that Members w ould take into account the suggestions made by 
the African Group.  His delegation was, however, open to discuss these points with Members.  With 
regard to the Guiding Principles which guided the negotiations on the Monitoring Mechanism, he said 
that these were not exhaustive a nd did not have any legal value. 
143. On the language in the draft decision relating to  the RTAs TM, he said that the intention was 
not for the CTD to undertake work that  was mandated to the NGR.  The text, inter alia , reiterated that 
the RTAs TM was being implemented on a provisional basis and also recalled that the TM procedures 
were to be applied without pre-judging the substa nce of the notified RTA.  Finally, on the language 
concerning the Cancún Agreement-specific proposals in the last sentence of the draft decision, he said 
that these Agreement-specific propo sals had been agreed to by Members on an ad referendum basis.  
He recognized that a specific numbe r of Agreement-specific proposals to be adopted by Ministers at 
MC-8 had not been included in the draft decision.  While Members could provide a number if they so 
wished, he observed that the sentence did not necessarily require a specific number. 
144. The representative of the United States indicated  that there were a number of issues 
mentioned in the communication on which there was as yet no consensus among Members.  Her 
delegation was ready to work with the proponents on their initiative.  
145. The Chairman encouraged the proponents to engage with the Members that had raised 
questions or concerns, in order to make progr ess on the proposal.  The CTD's annual report to the 
General Council would mention that the communicati on had been considered by the Committee. With 
regard to the process moving towards MC-8, he said that the General Council Chairman had indicated that the deadline for co nsensus on decisions was 2 November .  There was also a deadline of 
18 November for the submission of the annual repor ts of the General Council's subsidiary bodies. 
146. The representative of Jordan said that he still did not have clarity as to what was to happen to 
proposed decisions for MC-8.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 27 
 
 
  147. The Chairman once again made reference to th e 2 November deadline for decisions.  In the 
case of the communication that had been considered under the present agenda item, he reiterated that 
mention would be made of it in the CTD's annual report.     
148. The Committee took note of the communication, and of all interventions.     
H. PARTICIPATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM 
(WT/COMTD /W/181) 
149. The Chairman said that the CTD had a mandate to keep under continuous review the 
participation of developing country Members in th e multilateral trading system.  He recalled that it 
had been agreed at the 81st Session that the CTD's discussion under this agenda item would take place 
at the present meeting, based on a background paper prepared by the Secretariat.  He invited the 
Secretariat to introduce the paper, which had b een circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/181.   
150. The Chief Statistician provided a broad summa ry of the information contained in the 
Secretariat paper.  As part of his presentation,  he indicated that developing economies' trade 
rebounded quicker than that of deve loped countries following the economic  crisis of 2008.  Before the 
economic crisis, the participation of developing economies in global trade was already at an historic 
high.  Subsequent to the crisis, the share of de veloping economies continued to rise.  In terms of 
merchandise exports, developing economies accounted for more than 40 per cent of world trade in 
2010.  This was ten percentage points higher than in 2000.  
151. With regard to the regional distribution, he pointed to a significant amount of heterogeneity 
among developing economies.  Deve loping Asia accounted for the bulk of developing economies' 
trade.  In Africa and the Middle East, trade perfo rmance was subject to large fluctuations, due to 
fluctuations in commodity prices.  Latin Americ a had a strong trade performance in 2010.  Overall, 
South-South trade had risen significantly betw een 2008 and 2010.  It presently accounted for 
49 per cent of developing economies' exports.  De veloping economies' share in global commercial 
services trade had also risen, though the importance of participation varied by services sector.  For 
detailed data on developi ng economies' trade he invited Member s to consult the annexes to the 
Secretariat paper.  He also said that more info rmation on market access for LDCs was available in 
another paper that had been prepared by the S ecretariat for discussion in the Sub-Committee on LDCs 
and which was contained in document WT/COMTD/LDC/W /51.  Finally, he said that the Secretariat 
was projecting merchandise export volume to grow in 2011 by 8.7 per cent for developing economies 
and by 3.7 per cent for developed economies.  
152. The representative of Australia said that his delegation had taken not e that developing 
countries' trade, and in particular South-South trad e, was growing in importance.  However, the share 
of LDCs' trade, particularly in commercial servic es, remained small.  For LDCs, as well as for some 
other developing countries, there remained a lot to  be done to address supply-side constraints, to 
improve trade performance and competitiveness, and to maximize the growth potential of trade.  This 
demonstrated the importance of the Aid-for-Trade agenda.  His delegation appreciated the long-term 
historical data that the Secretariat paper provided,  and believed that it would be useful for future 
versions of the paper to similarly provide statistics over several years.  As for the forecast data that 
had been provided, Australia was interested in  exploring how this could be broken down by 
sub-groups of developing countries, given the consider able heterogeneity that existed within the larger 
developing country group. 
153. The representative of the European Union regrette d that, in light of th e heavy agenda for the 
present meeting, there was not enough time to properl y discuss the Secretariat paper.  She said that the 
paper confirmed the growing role of developing countries in global trade.  Compared to previous 
economic crises, the share of developing countri es in global trade actually increased between 2008 WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 28  
 
  and 2010.  This clearly pointed to the increased resilience of many developing countries, which had 
become less vulnerable to external shocks.  It was a very positive development that the EU welcomed.  
South-South trade now accounted for about half of  developing economies' merchandise exports.  It 
was thus safe to say that not only were developing  countries participating actively in the multilateral 
trading system, they had actually become a key driver.  This trend would likely continue in the future. 
154. She noted, however, that the picture was not a uniform one, as not all developing countries 
had seen an improvement in their trading performance.  The main drivers and beneficiaries were emerging economies and the Asian region - in particul ar China, which accounted for a quarter of all 
developing country trade.  LDCs a nd other developing countries most in need had seen very little or 
no progress, including in the context of South-S outh trade.  For these reasons, it was essential that 
emerging countries assumed their full responsibilities towards LDCs and other developing countries 
most in need.  She noted that responsibilities must  come hand in hand with greater transparency. 
Although country-specific information was provided in  the annexes to the Secretariat paper, she said 
that it would be useful to include more disaggregat ed information and analysis in the report.  This 
would net out the effects of outliers - notably very  strong performers that tended to bias the overall 
picture of developing country trade.  The EU would also welcome more analysis and discussion on 
the reasons for the high performance in developing  Asia, including its resilience during the crisis.  
This could provide useful lessons to others, and would provide possi ble avenues to discuss real trade 
and development challenges faced by Members. 
155. The representative of India said that the Secretariat paper came at an appropriate time, when 
there was significant activity in the run-up to MC-8.  With respect to the title of the Secretariat paper, 
he said that he wanted to quote from the economist John Whalley who had said that "when applied to 
global trade arrangements, the term 'system' implie s a coordinated and well-organized set of rules and 
institutions that oversee and regulate world trade".  In  this light, his delegation felt that the discussion 
under the present agenda item should be based on the effectiveness of the WTO system in addressing 
the concerns of developing countries and analyzing their participation.  
156. He went on to say that the current global trading system was not a monolithic structure, but 
was comprised of several overlapping and - in certain ways - conflicting pieces.  The overarching 
piece of the system was the GATT/WTO framework that  had been shaped over more than 60 years of 
continuous negotiations over trade liberalization, as well as over new rules and laws that governed the 
framework itself.  The second piece was composed of  bilateral and regional trade agreements that 
increasingly included deeper measures of political and economic integration such as monetary, fiscal, 
environmental, and even military policies.  The th ird group included unilateral arrangements such as 
the voluntary export restraints, and certain pr eference programmes for developing countries. 
157. The Secretariat had compiled detailed facts re lating to the trade figures of developing 
countries.  The report made the general observation that despite the slow or negative growth in  
developed economies, the developing countries and LDCs had succeeded in bouncing back to almost 
pre-2008 levels on account of the trade diversion in  favour of South-South trade.  The stimulus 
packages in the developing countries, especially in  the Asian economies, had helped to compensate 
for the loss of trade directed to the developed countr ies.  While appreciating the Secretariat's work, his 
delegation believed that the analysis would not be comprehensive and complete if it did not reflect a 
number of points. 
158. He noted firstly in this regard that the paper mentioned the positive experiences in many 
developing countries on account of short-term favourable trends, for example in commodity and fuel 
prices.  However, there was an absence of informat ion on the stable determinants of growth such as 
domestic capital formation and savings as a pr oportion of gross domestic product (GDP).  His 
delegation felt that it was necessary to analyze these points if the global trading system was to provide an empowering voice and influence for developing count ries.  He added that it was necessary to look  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 29 
 
 
  at the role of RTAs and special arrangements like DFQF schemes.  Furthermore, an analysis of the 
contribution of the programmes carried out under the aegis of the WTO - for example Aid-for-Trade and capacity-building activities - w ould be useful, in particular to see whether these programmes had 
indeed strengthened the supply-side capacities of developing countries and provided them with the 
strength to sustain any future shoc ks like a sudden drop in commodity prices.  He noted that the paper 
gave factual information relating to the regional dist ribution of trade.  However, it would have been 
more useful if the paper had also provided an insight into the weaknesses of these regions in mainstreaming trade into national development.  In conclusion, he said that an analysis of certain 
critical aspects of interest to developing countri es would have provided food for thought to policy 
makers in developing countries when planning appropriate policy responses. 
159. The representative of the United States said that the Secretariat paper provided a clear 
indication that the face of international trade was changing rapidly.  The increasing importance of 
developing countries to the international trading system  would help form the basis for future thinking 
on the direction of work in the WTO across a broad ra nge of issues.  On a more technical level, she 
requested the Secretariat to clarify the criteria used  in Annex 8 to designate developed countries.  She 
also asked why the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) had been broken out from developing Asia, 
and why the EU was not treated as a single trading bl ock.  With respect to paragraph 23, which noted 
that Bangladesh and Viet Nam had registered out standing export performances in manufacturers, she 
wished to know which manufacturing sectors in partic ular drove this export performance.  Turning to 
paragraph 27, she said that her delegation had no ted with interest that developing economies' 
manufactured exports had increased by 8 per cent between 2008 and 2010, and that the share of 
manufactures in developing economies' exports ro se from 58 per cent to 62 per cent.  While this 
demonstrated developing countries' strong performan ce in manufactured goods trade, she said that it 
would be helpful to have greater detail on the speci fic sectors covered.  Turning to Chart 7, which had 
a large "other manufactures" category, she asked whether the Secretariat could provide a further 
breakdown of this category.  Finally, with respect to paragraph 46, she suggested that the Secretariat 
clearly define Foreign Affiliates Trade Statistics (FATS) in a footnote.  
160. The Chief Statistician said that the comments by Members had been taken note of.  With 
respect to the question as to which manufacturing sectors had driven the export performance of LDCs 
in Asia, he said that it was mainly labour-intensi ve manufactures.  He noted that it was difficult to 
provide disaggregated forecasts, particularly for small economies.  However, efforts would 
nevertheless be made to at least provide some insight to Members in the future, even if it was not 
possible to do so in the report itself.  On the suggestion to expand the Secretariat's analysis beyond 
trade figures, he noted that the Secretariat was not  in itself equipped to undertake such analysis.  
However, steps had been taken in this direction in collaboration with other agencies.  One example 
was the recent publication with the Institute of Developing Economies — Japan External Trade 
Organization (IDE-JETRO) on production patterns in  Asia and the global supply chain.  Other 
examples concerned the WTO's collaboration with th e OECD in monitoring the impact of Aid for 
Trade, or the collaboration with the UN in monitori ng the Millennium Development Goals.  Some of 
the results of these collaborative efforts coul d be presented to Members in the future. 
161. The representative of Australia said that he wish ed to register his delegation's interest in 
continuing discussion at a future meeting of the Co mmittee on the issues that had been raised under 
the present agenda item. 
162. The Committee took note of the Secretariat paper, and of all interventions. 
I. DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2011  (WT/COMTD /W/183) 
163. The Chairman said that the CTD's draft annual report for 2011 to the General Council had 
been circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/183.  Th e report covered the work of the CTD's Regular WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 30  
 
  Session and Dedicated Session on Small Economies, th e CTD's work on Aid for Trade, and the work 
of the Sub-Committee on LDCs.  He noted that the dr aft report contained a number of square brackets 
on items which were to be considered at meetings that took place after the draft was circulated.  This 
included the 62
nd Session of the Sub-Committee on LDCs held on 8 November and the CTD's 
22nd Session on Aid for Trade held on 10 November, as well as the present Regular Session.  As part 
of the process of adopting the report, the square brackets would be removed, and the discussion that 
took place at these meetings would be appropriately reflected in the report.  
164. With regard to the 62nd Session of the Sub-Committee on LDCs, he highlighted that the 
CTD's annual report would mention that it was agreed  that the Chairman of the Sub-Committee would 
hold small-group informal consultations to make  as much progress as possible on the proposal 
concerning a decision on the accession of LDCs to  the WTO.  With regard to the CTD's 22nd Session 
on Aid for Trade, the report would reference th e Aid-for-Trade work programme for 2012 and 2013 
that was to be submitted to the General Council.  A reference would also be provided to the 
communication from Barbados - on behalf of th e SVEs - that was considered at the 22nd Session on 
Aid for Trade.  He added that CTD's annual repor t contained a report on the Third Global Review of 
Aid for Trade, which had been held on 18 and 19 Ju ly 2011.  Finally, with regard to the CTD's 
Regular Session, he said that the annual report w ould report on the discussion that had taken place on 
the various items considered at the present meeti ng.  This would include, among other things, a report 
on the Technical Assistance and Training Plan for 2012 and 2013, as well as a report on the discussion concerning the proposal by the African and Arab Groups on "Consolidating and mainstreaming development in the World Trade Organization".    
165. He went on to say that, subsequent to the ci rculation of the draft annual report, suggested 
amendments to the draft were provided in writing by  China, Egypt and India.  These were initially 
faxed to Members and had subsequently been ci rculated in document WT/COMTD/W/185.  In the 
context of the draft annual report, he also refe rred to a communication from the EU, circulated in 
document WT/COMTD/W/184, in which it was indicated that the EU – like most other Members – 
was agreeable to the draft annual report that was circ ulated.  In order to find language that would be 
factual and acceptable to all, he said that he had he ld a brief informal consultation prior to the present 
meeting with a small group of Members on the amendmen ts suggested by China, Egypt and India.  At 
the present time, he did not believe that there was the necessary consensus to adopt the annual report. 
He would, therefore, continue his informal consu ltations.  Once language that was agreeable had been 
found, a revised draft report would be circulated.  
166. The representative of the United States said that  he sought clarification on the Aid-for-Trade 
work programme.  His understanding was that th e work programme was to be submitted under the 
CTD Chairman's responsibility to the General Counc il.  The draft report, however, also mentioned 
that the work programme would be transmitted to MC -8.  He added that his delegation, like the EU, 
was in a position to adopt the annual report that had been circulated by the Secretariat.  
167. The Chairman said that the Aid-for-Trade work programme would be submitted to the 
General Council, and that the Council may decide to bring it to the attention of Ministers. 
168. The representative of Japan said that his delega tion supported the draft annual report that had 
been circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/183.   Nevertheless, Japan would participate 
constructively in the informal consultations  that the Chairman would be holding.  
169. The representative of Saudi Arabia referred to the last sentence of paragraph 3 in document 
WT/COMTD/W/183, which read:  "At the 82nd Session, Egypt called for an early resolution to the 
issues surrounding requests for observer status by intergovernmental organizations".  He specified that this was, in fact, the position of the Arab Group as well.     WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 31 
 
 
  170. The meeting was suspended. 
171. The meeting was reconvened on 17 November 2011. 
172. The Chairman said that, after the suspension of the meeting on 14 November, he had met with 
a number of delegations in a small- group format in order to explore various textual possibilities on the 
basis of the suggested amendments to the draft annual report.  The informal consultations had been 
useful in helping him to formulate language on the paragraphs in question.  The revised draft annual 
report - circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/183/Re v.1 - was the outcome of his consultations.  
He said that he was aware that the language in th e revised text was not perfectly in line with what 
each and every Member would have liked to see.  It was well known that there were some issues in the CTD on which Members had divergent views.  Ne vertheless, he appealed to all Members to see 
the revised draft as an honest effort to strike a ba lance between the different positions of Members on 
certain issues.  He indicated that he personally saw the text in the revised draft as being balanced, and 
that was why it was being circulated.  He once agai n emphasized the importance of the annual report, 
and asked Members to consider adopting it. 
173. Discussion continued in informal mode. 
174. In switching back to formal mode, the Chairman said that the Committee had still not reached 
the necessary consensus to adopt its annual report. 
175. The representative of the European Union said th at her delegation was prepared to accept the 
revised draft as contained in document WT/COMTD/W/183/Rev.1.  She expressed regret that the 
report could not be adopted by the Committee.  The EU was wondering whether the report could 
nevertheless be transmitted to the General C ouncil, along with a note from the CTD Chairman 
indicating that some Members had reservations on certain identified paragraphs.  This process would 
be without prejudice to Member's positions  or their rights and obligations.    
176. The representative of Australia expressed his de legation's interest in considering the EU's 
proposal.  He emphasized the importance of bri nging the CTD's work to the attention of the 
membership. 
177. The representative of Egypt highlighted the impor tance of the CTD's work and regretted that 
the report could not be adopted.  He pointed to the rules of procedure of the CTD, which indicated 
that the General Council should be informed if  the Committee could not reach consensus. 
Furthermore, according to rule 36bis of the CTD's ru les of procedure, the EU's proposal could not be 
followed through.  He urged Members to stick to the rules of procedure. 
178. The representative of Colombia added his voice to  others who had expressed regret that the 
CTD could not adopt its annual report.  His delega tion was willing to consider the EU's proposal. 
179. The representative of Angola said that the concer ns raised by Egypt needed to be taken into 
account.  He suggested that the US and Egypt work  bilaterally, and report back to the Committee on 
any compromise found. 
180. The representative of the United States reaffi rmed his delegation's support for the original 
report as circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/183.  He also indicated the US' willingness to work 
with the Chairman in further consultations. 
181. The representative of Mexico, while expr essing understanding for Members' positions, 
regretted that the CTD could not adopt its annual report.  He wondered whether the CTD Chairman WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 32  
 
  could write a letter to the General Council, ou tlining the CTD's activities in 2011, and also 
highlighting the issues on which language could not be agreed upon. 
182. The representative of India said that the CTD was an important pillar in the WTO 
architecture. His delegation was concerned that the role of the Committee was being undermined.  He 
urged Members to show restraint and work towards finding consensus. 
183. The representative of Pakistan wondered whether it may be possible to put the text on which 
there was no agreement in square brackets.  This woul d at least allow a report to be transmitted to the 
General Council. 
184. The representative of China said that his delega tion recognized the value of the CTD's annual 
report.  This was why it had been participating in  various consultations in order to try and find 
compromise language.  He expressed regret that Me mbers were not able to achieve consensus, but 
indicated his delegation's willingness to contin ue to work towards finding a solution. 
185. The Chairman said that he remained optimis tic that some compromise language could be 
found with respect to the annual report.  He would continue his informal consultations. 
186. The meeting was suspended. 
187. The meeting was reconvened on 18 November 2011.  
188. The Chairman informed Members that his consu ltations had still not allowed consensus to be 
reached.  A brief discussion followed on the deadlin es for submission of the annual reports to the 
General Council. 
189. The meeting was suspended. 
190. The meeting was reconvened on 25 November 2011. 
191. The Chairman said that he wished to brief Me mbers on the status of discussions on the CTD's 
annual report.  He indicated that discussions in rece nt consultations - in which the Director-General 
had participated - had been on para graph 9, and in particular the pl acement of a sentence in that 
paragraph.  The proposal made in the consultations  had been to remove the sentence in question from 
paragraph 9, and to place it in a new paragraph 9bis.   Paragraph 9 would then read as follows:  "The 
RTA notifications concerning the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Customs Union, the 
ASEAN-Korea Agreement and the India-Korea Agre ement continued to be discussed in the CTD 
during 2011.  The communication from China, Egypt and India titled 'Systemic and specific issues 
arising out of the dual notification of the Gulf Cooperation Council Customs Union' (WT/COMTD/W/175) was presented.  During the 81
st, 82nd and 83rd Sessions these Members also 
raised a number of specific and systemic concerns over the legal and procedural  implications of RTAs 
notified under both the Enabling Clause and GATT Ar ticle XXIV.  The Chairman's consultations on 
these issues remained inconclusive". 
192. As for paragraph 9bis, it would read as follows:  "Members continued to express divergent 
views on how to address the issues relating to the RTAs notified under both the Enabling Clause and 
GATT Article XXIV and their implications".  He expressed his hope that the Committee could now 
adopt the CTD's annual report.  He went on to say that he did not see any requests for the floor, and 
that the annual report could therefore be adopted.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
 Page 33 
 
 
  193. The representative of Egypt said that, before his delegation could be in a position to adopt the 
annual report, it wished to know the status of the ot her paragraphs - namely, paragraphs 3,  10 and 13 - 
on which China, Egypt and India had ra ised concerns and made suggestions. 
194. The Chairman responded that these paragraphs would remain as had been discussed in the 
recent consultations in which the Director-General had participated.  At the request of Egypt, he read 
out the text of these paragraphs. Paragraph 3 was r ead out as follows: "The CTD continues to have 
outstanding requests for observer status from the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Or ganization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the 
Organisation internationale de  la Francophonie, the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the 
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting C ountries (OAPEC) and the Groupe de la Banque 
Africaine de Développement.  At the 82
nd and 83rd Sessions, the Arab Group called for an early 
resolution to the issues surrounding requests for observer status by intergovernmental organizations, specifically highlighting the League of Arab States , according to the existing rules of procedure.  
Other Members felt that this was a broader, cross-cutting issue".  
195. With respect to paragraph 10, he said that this  paragraph would be moved to a new section at 
the end of the report which would be titled "Final  Remarks". He read out the new paragraph as 
follows:  "In January 2011, following a request from the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules, the Chairman of the CTD provided a brie f statement, in his own capacity, of the CTD's 
experience in implementing the Transparency Mechan ism for RTAs (JOB/RL/2)".  Finally, he read 
out the text of paragraph 13 as follows:  "The  Decision taken at the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference on DFQF market access for LDCs remains a standing item on the CTD's agenda.  
Information was shared and clarification was sough t on the steps being taken by Members to provide 
DFQF market access to LDCs' products, including in respect of preferential rules of origin.  The 
LDCs took the floor at each of the formal meetings of the CTD, calling for an expeditious and faithful 
implementation of the Decision".  
196. The representatives of Jordan and Saudi Arabia  indicated that the proposed language on 
paragraph 3 was satisfactory to their delegations, and to the Arab Group. 
197. The representative of Egypt said that paragraph 3 appropriately reflected the position of the 
Arab Group.  However, his recollection from the recen t informal consultations was that a Member had 
wanted the last sentence that read "Other Members fe lt that this was a broader, cross-cutting issue" to 
be deleted.  He added that, in the view of this delegation, this phrase did not correctly capture what 
had transpired in the CTD.  Nevertheless, his dele gation was open to further discussions on this point.  
With regard to the textual proposal on paragraph 10, as well as the suggestion to move the paragraph 
to the end of the report, he believed that the cons ultations had not been e xhaustive.  His delegation 
had been satisfied with an earlier drafting sugges tion by the Secretariat.  On paragraph 13, he 
indicated that his delegation was willing to show fl exibility.  Finally, moving to paragraph 9bis, he 
said that the language that had been shared with Members at the present meeting did not reflect what 
had been shared earlier with his delegation.  In pa rticular, his delegation's understanding had been that 
the words "consider and" would appear before "address"  in the sentence. In this light, he was not in a 
position to adopt the CTD's annual report at the present meeting. 
198. The representative of China said that his delegati on was willing to show flexibility in having a 
one-sentence paragraph 9bis, provided that the words "consider and" appeared before "address" in the 
sentence.  Like Egypt, it had been China's unders tanding that this would be the case.  He was, 
therefore, not in a position to adopt the CTD's annual report at the present meeting. 
199. The representative of India said that his delega tion had worked constructively with Members 
in order to have consensus on the four outstanding paragraphs.  However, he was not in a position to WT/COMTD/M/83 
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  adopt the CTD's annual report at the present meeti ng, since it had been his delegation's understanding 
that the words "consider and" woul d appear before "address" in the sentence in paragraph 9bis.    
200. The representative of the European Union sai d that her delegation had shown flexibility 
throughout the discussions on the annual report.  In  particular, the EU had been willing to accept the 
various revisions and textual proposals that had been discussed.  The text on the table at the present 
meeting was also acceptable to her delegation.  She urged Members to adopt the annual report. 
201. The representative of the United States said that it was his understanding that the annual 
report had been adopted, since the Chairman had indi cated so and had gavelled upon it.  He welcomed 
any clarification from the Chairman on this point. 
202. The Chairman said that it had appeared from th e informal consultations that the proposals on 
paragraphs 3, 10 and 13 were acceptable to the par ticipating delegations.  As  for paragraph 9bis, he 
recognized that the process of consultations had included discussions on various textual proposals. 
203. The representative of Egypt asked whether the Chairman could provide clarification on the 
point raised by the US - namely, on whether the annual report had been adopted by the Committee. 
204. The Chairman said that he had indeed gavelled.   However, Egypt had subsequently requested 
the floor.  He had welcomed the intervention from Egypt, as he would have from any Member. 
205. The representative of the United States said that his delegation was in a position to adopt the 
CTD's annual report with the language that had been circulated at the present meeting.  
206. The representative of Egypt explained that he had not been in a position to request to speak 
before the Chairman gavelled, as he had been listening to the translation.  When he took the floor, he 
had raised a number of reservations.  Therefore, it was his delegation's understanding that the annual 
report, and in particular the proposal on paragrap h 9, had not been adopted.  He added that his 
delegation was concerned that the textual proposal s that had been made at the present meeting 
reflected only the suggestions of some Members.   While his delegation could accept the proposals on 
paragraphs 3 and 13, concerns rema ined on paragraphs 9 and 10.  He  would have liked to see other 
contributions on these paragraphs being reflected.  He also expressed concern that the language on 
paragraph 9bis which had been discussed with his de legation before the present meeting had not been 
circulated to the larger membership. 
207. The representative of Nigeria said that every de legation had the right to point to any factual 
errors or omissions in an annual report.  At th e same time, he called on all Members to show the 
necessary flexibility to adopt the CTD's report.  
208. The representative of Colombia said that her delegation attached great importance to the 
CTD's annual report.  She called on Members to show the flexibility that would allow the report to be 
adopted. 
209. The Chairman said that the CTD's annual report was not legally binding on Members.  He 
added that the textual proposals that had been shared  at the present meeting were not meant to reflect 
the position of any Member or Members.  These refl ected the proposals of the Chairman and of the 
Director-General. 
210. The representative of the European Union said th at Members should have faith in the efforts 
of the Chairman and the Director-General.  The EU had shown flexibility in trying to accommodate 
the concerns of Members, and called on others to do the same.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
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  211. The representative of Mexico emphasized th e importance of the CTD's annual report, 
particularly in the year of a Ministerial Conferen ce.  He agreed with the Chairman that the annual 
report did not create any obligations on Members.   He called on Members to show flexibility. 
212. The Chairman asked whether the annual report could be adopted. 
213. The representatives of China and Egypt indicated that their delegations were not in a position 
to adopt the annual report.  
214. In response to a suggestion by the representativ e of the European Union that Members be 
given until the close-of-business on 25 November 2011 to adopt the annual report, reservations were 
expressed by the representative of Egypt.  The represen tative of Jordan suggested that Members be 
given enough time to allow the eventual adoption of  the annual report.  The representative of Nigeria 
suggested that the CTD could meet again to adopt its annual report. 
215. The representative of Chile asked whether the adoption of the report was subject to the 
approval of paragraph 9. 
216. The Chairman said that there were apparently  other paragraphs on which further discussion 
was required.   
217. The meeting was suspended. 
218. The meeting was reconvened on 28 November 2011. 
219. The Chairman said that his consultations had led to convergence on the outstanding 
paragraphs.  The Committee was, therefore, in a position to adopt its annual report.  Noticing that 
Egypt was requesting the floor, he asked whethe r the representative of Egypt could make his 
intervention after the report was adopted.  
220. The representative of Egypt said that his instruc tions were to make his intervention before the 
adoption of the annual report.  He said that his dele gation had consistently argued for a factual report 
that gave an accurate, realistic and precise account  of the activities and deliberations that had taken 
place in the CTD in 2011.  An annual report that w as both accurate and factual should not have been a 
preoccupation or a source of contention for the CTD.  On the contrary, it should have been a simple 
and straightforward exercise to be undertaken on the basis of what actually took place in the 
Committee.  Egypt did not share the views of some Me mbers that felt that it was sufficient to include 
one phrase to capture the extensive discussions that  had taken place over a vast array of systemic 
issues.  This would have served the interests of  some, but would have fallen short of factually 
capturing what the CTD had deliberated extensively on. Egypt's view was that the CTD should produce a report that was both representative and lived up to its terms of reference as the focal point 
for the consideration of all development work undertaken in the WTO.  
221. He went on to say that the annual report was neither a legal document nor a statement of 
position that should be used to propagate the vi ews of some.  Rather it should only reflect the 
deliberations that took place in the CTD as reflected in the minutes of its proceedings.  His delegation 
was therefore disappointed to witn ess that the draft report fell short of reflecting the numerous 
specific and systemic issues that had been raised by Members.  Egypt, along with China and India, 
had sought to rectify this situation in an attempt to give a factual account to Ministers on the nature 
and diversity of the discussions that had taken plac e in the CTD over the systemic implications of 
RTAs with dual notification status.  The three de legations had also accepted with an open mind the 
fact that there were divergent views expressed on a number of issues, including the appropriate manner to consider RTAs with dual notification stat us; the legal and procedural implications of the WT/COMTD/M/83 
Page 36  
 
  specific and systemic issues raised with respect to the application of  the TM for RTAs;  the CTD's 
mandate;  the scope of application of the Enabling Clause;  and the inconsistencies that had been 
maintained with respect to the implementation of  the 1995 General Council decision on the avoidance 
of procedural and institutional duplication.  
222. He noted, however, that divergences between Me mbers should not be an excuse to not report 
factually in the annual report.  His delegation belie ved that all the issues raised in the CTD should 
have been captured and presented uniformly, with  no asymmetries.  Members should not shy away 
from highlighting their differences.  All the issues th at had been raised in th e CTD needed to receive 
the same priority, and no attempts should have b een made to place any weights or rank development 
issues.  It was Members' responsibilit y to ensure that Ministers had an opportunity to take note of the 
extensive discussions that had taken place in the CTD.  
223. Despite the numerous informal consultations th at had been held, his delegation believed that 
the annual report was far from being factually represen tative.  In fact, his delegation had expressed its 
reservations on the way the process had been conduc ted and what had been agreed to during the 
informal consultations led by the CTD Chairman.  He said that he would not repeat these concerns 
and reservations, for they had been relayed forma lly to the Director-Gen eral by the Permanent 
Representatives of China, India and Egypt.  It was ho ped that these shortcomings would be avoided in 
any future work to be undertaken in the CTD or an y informal consultations led by its Chairman.  He 
recalled that at one point in the discussion on the annual report, the Secretariat had been able to 
provide a compromise proposal that was accurate and representative, as well as factual.  However, it 
was unfortunate that some Members had decided not  to agree to this proposal, thereby prolonging 
further any prospects for a compromise.  
224. In conclusion, he said that the annual report di d not capture what his delegation would have 
hoped to see in an annual report of the CTD.  His de legation was not satisfied with the report and was 
not in a position to support it.  Ne vertheless, in keeping with the utmost restraint and flexibility that 
Egypt had shown throughout the discussions on the a nnual report, he indicated that the intention was 
not to block the adoption of the report.  He noted that if there was still any doubt as to why the Doha 
Round had failed on its development mandate, it would be advisable to consider the inability of 
Members to agree to a factual report on the CTD's work. 
225. The Committee adopted its annual report for 2011.
2 
226. The representative of China said that his delega tion recognized the value of having an annual 
report for the CTD, especially in the year of a Mi nisterial Conference.  China had actively engaged in 
the Chairman's consultations and had demonstrated great flexibility, particularly with respect to 
paragraph 9.  He observed that th e annual report should reflect the CTD's work in a factual and neutral 
way.  Although not fully comfortable with th e draft, his delegation was willing to accept the 
compromise language in order to avoid a repetition of  what had happened in 20 10 with regard to the 
CTD's annual report.  However, the adoption of the annual report did not mean that the issue of dual 
notifications had been resolved.  He called on Memb ers to actively engage in future consultations 
with the aim of finding a satisfactory solution.  He  also expressed his hope that the Chairman and the 
Secretariat could play a neutral and objective role in the process. 
227. The representative of India said that some Memb ers were creating the impression that China, 
Egypt and India had been trying to block the adop tion of the CTD's annual report, and that these 
delegations were trying to insert unnecessary and triv ial issues into the report.  He emphasized the 
importance of development issues, and said that attempts had been made for several years to 
undermine the position of the CTD and the Enabling Clau se.  The same attempts were being made in 
                                                      
2 The report was issued as document WT/COMTD/74.  WT/COMTD/M/83 
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  the adoption of the annual report.  China, Egypt and India were trying to protect the rights of 
developing countries, including their right to notify under the Enabling Clause.  He highlighted the flexibility and restraint that the three delegations  had shown in adopting the annual report, even 
though they were not completely satisfied with it.   He called on Members to  engage on substance so 
that the matter could be resolved as soon as possible. 
J. 
OTHER BUSINESS  
228. No matter was raised under "Other Business". 
229. The meeting was adjourned.   
 
 
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