. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/17 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5935) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
THE DEVELOPMENT ROUND 
 
Communication from  Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
 
 The following communication, dated 14 December 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Peru on behalf al so of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. 
 
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1. For the Doha Round to meet its objective of being the Developmental Round, its outcome 
must be a substantial market access improvement in those sectors or economic activities where developing countries have comparative advantag es, especially in Agriculture, non-agricultural 
products and temporary movement of service providers. It must also l ead to adequate treatment of our 
biological/genetic material and associated traditional knowledge of our native population. 
2. We, as co-sponsors of this communication, believe and emphasize that any "development 
package" must include ambitious results to accomp lish the mandate of the fu llest trade liberalization 
for tropical products and products of particular importance in crop substitution of illicit narcotic 
production. 
3. We would also like to stress that the developm ent package to be complete it should include a 
comprehensive and predictable program on Aid for Tr ade, an important instrument to actually help 
developing countries. 
4. The distorting effects of high subsidies for dom estic agricultural production in industrialized 
countries have led to oversupply in world markets and to artificially low world prices.  The effects on 
developing countries have been an income reduc tion for farmers and, in many cases, import 
substitution of domestic production.  Social effects have included an increase in the migration of 
small farmers to large cities thus in creasing poverty levels and misery. 
5. Tariff peaks in industrialized countries focus on products of export interest for developing 
countries.  Between 6 and 14 percent of Quad (Un ited States, European Communities of 15, Japan and 
Canada) tariff lines at six digit level are above 15 pe rcent.  The average tariff  peaks in the Quad are 
over 28 percent, which is 4.5 times its  total tariff average of 6.2 percent
1. 
6. Perhaps the largest gains for developing c ountries in the Doha Round can be achieved 
through the liberalization of temporary labor flow s.  The positive spillovers that temporary service 
providers would generate for their home countri es in terms of reinvestment of their savings, 
experience, entrepreneurship, work ethic, etc. are of paramount importance.  A program of temporary 
                                                      
1 Olarreaga Marcelo and Ng Francis "Tariff Peaks and Preferences" in "Dev elopment, Trade and the 
WTO:  A Handbook". World Bank 2002. WT/MIN(05)/17 
Page 2  
 
work visas for one or two years in the rich countries would be one the most important contribution that the Doha Round could make to developing economies. 
7. We consider that it is of the outmost importa nce to discuss in detail the relationship between 
the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity, as a key element of the development package.  In that sense, the discussion must cover the requirements on patent applicants 
of disclosing, as a condition for granting the patent, the source and country of origin of the 
biological/genetic material and associated traditiona l knowledge used in thei r invention, as well as 
evidence of prior informed consent and benefit sharing requirements. 
8. Developing countries like the co-sponsors of th is communication, have applied structural 
adjustment policies, including the liberalization of th e flow of goods and capitals, in spite of their high 
political and social costs, as we believe that an authen tic free trade is the path for development.  It is 
now up to developed economies to make their doctrin e of liberalization compatible with the extension 
of free trade coverage for products of export inter est to developing countries and extend the current 
liberalization of flows of goods and capitals to the mobility of service providers. 
 
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