WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/CTD/26 
21 April 2011 
 (11-2024) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Special Session  
 
 
 
SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
 
Report by the Chairman, Ambassador Shahid Bashir (Pakistan) , 
to the Trade Negotiations Committee  
  
  This Report on the current status of work in  the Special Session of the Committee on Trade 
and Development (Special Session), prepared under my own responsibility, attempts to capture the 
progress that has been made in the last few months , during which I have held two formal meetings 
(13 January and 22
 March 20111), and a large number of informal  small-group meetings.  Members 
have shown continuous a nd positive engagement during this peri od, because of which we have moved 
closer to convergence in many key areas.  
 
The Monitoring Mechanism  
  Members know that for some time now, it has be en difficult to make substantive progress in 
negotiations on the Monitoring Mechanism.  In spite of sustained efforts over the past few years, it 
had not been possible to bridge the divergent view s on the mandate, scope, structure and functions of 
the Mechanism.  We, however, witnessed an im portant breakthrough in the small group of 
Ambassadors' led process on development issues,  which attempted to capture the middle ground on 
the elements of the Monitoring Mechanism, and proposed some 'Guiding Principles' to help take the process forward.  After intensive consultations on  these 'Guiding Principles' the then Chair of the 
Special Session circulated a Fourth Revision (R ev.4) of his non-paper dated 16 December 2010 on the 
Monitoring Mechanism.  At the 43
rd Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development 
held on 13 January 2011, the Membership agreed to work on the basis of the revised non-paper in the 
small-group process.  
  In the small-group consultations that ensu ed thereafter, Members engaged on Rev.4 and 
tabled additional textual proposals.  These proposals continue to be discussed.  Based on a general 
agreement among Members to rearrang e the elements of Rev.4 in a mo re coherent and logical format, 
so as to facilitate a structured discussion and th erefore convergence, I issued an Addendum to Rev.4 
of the non-paper on 17 February 2011.  In this Addendum, different paragraphs of the Mechanism 
were placed under the headings of Scope, Functions/Terms of Reference, Operations and Reappraisal.  
The Addendum also contained a Preamble.  Al l consultations thereafter were based on this 
Addendum.  
 
                                                     
 
1 TN/CTD/M/43 and TN/CTD/M/44 (to be issued). TN/CTD/26 
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   Although nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, there appears to be convergence on the 
following elements of the Mechanism:  
(a) Scope:  Although at one stage some Members felt that the scope  of the Mechanism 
should be restricted to the covered Agreemen ts only, others preferred the inclusion of 
Ministerial and General Council Decisions to the scope of the Mechanism.  This 
divergence has now been bridged and Memb ers broadly agree that "the Mechanism 
will apply to all S&D provisions cont ained in multilaterally agreed WTO 
Agreements, Ministerial and General Council Decisions". 
(b) Functions:  The divergence in this section had been mainly on the issue, whether the 
Mechanism was meant to be an exercise in 'transparency', overseeing the 
implementation of S&D provisions, or a permanent negotiating forum on S&D 
provisions, even after the conclusion of the DDA.  There now appears to be a compromise on these positions and Members feel that though the Monitoring Mechanism will not be a negotiating body, it will also not be precluded from making 
recommendations or proposals for initiati ng negotiations in other WTO bodies.  
Besides, the Mechanism will complement, and not replace, other relevant Mechanisms in different bodies of the WTO.  
(c) Operations:  Another area where there appears to be convergence is on the operation 
of the Mechanism in dedicated sessions of  the CTD;  meetings of which will be 
convened periodically, and at least twice a year, and which will follow the same rules 
of procedure as the Regular Session of the CTD.  These dedicated sessions will be 
Member-driven and their work will be based on inputs and submissions by Members, as well as on reports received from other WTO bodies.  Prior to each such session, the WTO Secretariat will compile a factual background document based on inputs and submissions received from Memb ers and other WTO bodies, detailing 
information relating to operation, utili zation and implementation of the S&D 
provisions. 
(d) Reappraisal:  There is also a general agre ement that the Mechanism will be reviewed 
three years after its entry into force and thereafter when deemed necessary.  
 Negotiations on the Monitoring Mechanism have not yet concluded.  Members continue to 
have divergent views on the language of the Pr eamble, on which the African Group and the EU 
delegation have tabled proposals, which are still being discussed by Members.  In addition, while 
there is a broad agreement on combining paragraphs 4 and 5 of Annex 1 to this report, there is as yet 
no convergence on the possible language that wi ll combine these two paragraphs.  Similarly, 
Members continue to hold divergent views on the issue of the review procedure and any 
recommendations made under this Mechanism not prej udging the legal nature of S&D provisions nor 
affecting Members' rights and obligations under the WTO Agreements.  These issues remain under 
active consideration of the Special Session.   In Annex 1 to this Report, I have tried to capture the current status of the non-paper after 
incorporating the textual and schematic proposals of Members.  This Annex is produced under my 
own responsibility.   The Agreement-specific Proposals
 
 
 Work on the six Agreement-specific proposals h as continued on the basis of the last language 
circulated in May 2010.  While discussion on these proposals has proceeded in a positive and 
constructive spirit, Members remain far from de veloping any common understanding and so far it has  TN/CTD/26 
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  not been possible to bridge the gaps in the dive rgent positions that Members continue to express.  
Some Members have expressed the view that the text falls short of accurately reflecting earlier discussions on these proposals.  For them, the areas of divergence extend beyond the bracketed text 
and more work is required to develop convergence even  on other parts of the text.  On the other hand, 
some other Members feel that the draft text on  these proposals accurately captures the progress that 
had been achieved during and before 2010.  They hold the view that the text in its current form, with 
the exception of a few brackets, is fairly stabili zed and that any attempt to reopen it could be a 
retrograde step.  On my part, I intend to continue my efforts to encourage Members to work towards 
narrowing the remaining gaps so as to develop a common understanding. 
 
 As for the 28 proposals annexed to the draft Ca ncún Ministerial Declaration, Members have a 
shared understanding that there was an in-principle  agreement to these propo sals on an ad  referendum 
basis, and what remains is their formal adoptio n by the Membership at an opportune time.  
 
On the Category II proposals, the Chairs have, as  in the past, reported that there has not been 
much progress on these proposals.  This is largely due to the fact that the issues raised in some of the 
proposals form an integral part of the on-going work in the respective negotiating bodies.  In the coming months, I shall continue coordinating with th e respective Chairpersons so as to see how best 
to expedite progress on these proposals.  
Overall, it would be fair to state that the past four months have witnessed considerable 
progress in our work.  As for the future course of  action, it is proposed that Members continue to 
engage with a positive mind-set to bridge th e remaining gaps.  Personal involvement of 
Ambassadors/Heads of Delegation in this pr ocess may also be sought when required. 
 
 
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 TN/CTD/26 
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  ANNEX 1 
 
The Monitoring Mechanism
 
 
PREAMBLE  
 
Recalling the General Council Decision of July 2002 on establishing a Monitoring Mechanism1 
 
1. Members hereby agree to establish the Monitori ng Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the 
Mechanism) with the following:  Scope, Functions/T erms of Reference, Operations and Reappraisal. 
 
SCOPE  
 2. The Mechanism will apply to all Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) provisions 
contained in multilaterally agreed WTO Agreemen ts, Ministerial and General Council Decisions.  
 
FUNCTIONS/ TERMS OF REFERENCE
 
 3. The Mechanism shall act as a focal point within the WTO to analyse and review the 
implementation of S&D provisions.  
4. Through a bottom-up, horizontal and transp arent process enabling information sharing, the 
Mechanism shall regularly evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of S&D provisions with a view 
that they are effectively and better implemented to facilitate integration of developing and least 
developed Members into the multilateral trading system.  
5. Following discussions amongst Members, th e Mechanism, shall propose actions, as 
appropriate, including to the General Council, to strengthen and improve th e implementation of the 
S&D provisions.
2  
 6. The Mechanism will be a simple, practical, e fficient and transparent one which complements, 
not replaces, relevant review mechanisms in other bodies of the WTO.  
 
7. The Mechanism is not a negotiating body.  However, this does not preclude recommendations 
or proposals for initiating negotiations in other WTO Bodies on S&D provisions reviewed in the 
Mechanism.  
8. The review procedure under this Mechanism shall not prejudge the legal nature of the S&D 
provision(s) under consideration nor affect Me mbers' rights and obligations under the WTO 
Agreements, in any way.
3  
 OPERATIONS
 
 
9. The Mechanism shall operate in dedicat ed sessions of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD DS) and shall convene its sessions periodically, at least twice a year and follow the same rules and procedures applied by the Committee on Trade and Development. 
 
                                                     
 
1 Two textual proposals on the Preamble have been tabled, which Members continue to discuss. 
2 There is general understanding among Members that the formulations in paragraphs 4 and 5 may be 
merged into one paragraph - two textual proposals have been tabled, which Members continue to discuss. 
3 This paragraph also continues to be discussed as reflected in my report.  TN/CTD/26 
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  10. Monitoring of S&D provisions in the Mech anism shall be undertaken on the basis of 
inputs/submissions made by Members, as well as on the basis of reports received from other WTO 
Bodies to which inputs/submissions by Members could also be made.  11. Prior to each session of the Mechanism, th e WTO Secretariat shall compile a factual 
background document, based on, as appropriate, inputs/submissions made by Members and WTO 
bodies, including information relating to opera tion, utilization and implementation of S&D 
provisions. 
 
REAPPRAISAL OF THE MECHANISM
 
 
12. The Mechanism will be reviewed  three years after its entry into force and thereafter, when 
necessary, taking into account its actual functioning and evolving circumstances. 
  
 
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