WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/147 
18 July 2007 
 
 (07-3045) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CORE GROUP OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 
THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP OF STATES, THE AFRICAN 
GROUP, AND THE LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES GROUP 
  
 The following communication, dated 16 July 2007, is being circulated at the request of the 
Core Group of Developing Countries, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, the African Group, and the Least-Developed Countries Group.  
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING 
  
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This communication builds on earlier submissions to the Negotiating Group on Trade 
Facilitation (NGTF) in relation to the issue of tec hnical assistance and capacity-building (TACB) and 
new trade facilitation obligations.
1 
2. Through this communication, the submitting Memb ers seek to substantively contribute to the 
negotiations on Trade Facilitation (TF), to ensure that the principle of special and differential 
treatment is fully reflected in the negotiated outco me, to link the implementation of trade facilitation 
obligations by developing and least-developed Members to the provision of TACB support in a 
mutual spirit of partnership. 
3. This communication does not prejudice the position of individual Members, and is without 
prejudice to any amendments, revisions, or clarifications that the proponents may later wish to make. 
II. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL CONCEPTS – DEVELOPMENT-FRIENDLY 
APPROACHES TO TRADE FACILITATION 
A. DEVELOPING A TF PARTNERSHIP : LINKING TACB  TO TF COMMITMENTS  
4. To ensure a win-win and development-friendly ou tcome that mutually benefits all Members, 
especially developing and least-developed Members, in the Trade Facilitation (TF) negotiations, there 
is a need for balance between the contributions of  developed and developing Members in terms of 
mutually beneficial commitments.  In this regard , the submitting Members recall that Annex D of the 
July 2004 Framework (WT/L/579) and Annex E of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
(WT/MIN(05)/DEC) stress the importance and necessity of providing precise, effective, and operational TACB to developing Members during the negotiations and for the implementation of the 
results thereof by such Members.  
                                                     
 
1 TN/TF/W/73, TN/TF/W/81, TN/TF/W/82, TN/TF/W/95, TN/TF/W/137, and TN/TF/W/142. TN/TF/W/147 
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  5. This means that there must be clearly define d operational mechanisms established to ensure 
that TACB is actually provided to those Members th at need them.  A mutually beneficial win-win 
outcome of the TF negotiations requires that Memb ers engage in a partnership in which TACB is 
provided by developed Members to assist devel oping Members in the implementation of new TF 
commitments.  Such TACB should be tailored to th e specific needs, circumstances and priorities of 
the recipients in order for it to be effective, precise and operational.  TACB should be equitably 
provided to all those that require it.  The impor tance of TACB also necessarily implies the equal 
importance of ensuring that any new TF agreement incorporates a strong role for the WTO in coordinating and facilitating the provision of such TACB from donors, and for the donor community, including developed Members, to commit to prov iding adequate modalities and mechanisms through 
which such TACB could be accessed by those w ho need it.  Developing countries should not be 
required to implement TF commitments for whic h TACB is needed if such TACB is absent. 
B. 
 PROPOSED MEASURES ON TF 
6. The various proposals submitted by Members reflect valuable and useful ideas on improving 
TF in Members and thereby enhance cross-borde r trade in goods.  The proponents of this 
communication believe that these proposals have to be studied and agreed upon on their individual 
merits, in order to ensure that their inclusi on in any negotiated outcome provides development 
benefits to developing Members, and so that the appropriate S&D treatment can be incorporated in 
such proposals.  
7. The assessment of the proposals submitted reve als that there will be implementation 
difficulties faced by developing members e ither individually or collectively. 
8. These implementation issues will need to be  considered and addressed.  New TF 
commitments should therefore be approached in a way that would enable developing Members to 
commit to a specified minimal level or standard of  implementation of commitments, with appropriate 
flexibility for least-developed Members, and subj ect to the provision of TACB where needed.  
Developing Members could then, at their discretion, progressively go into higher levels or standards 
of implementation as and when capacity exists to do so taking into account their development context.  
For example, developing Members could agree to a commitment requiring mandatory publication in 
government gazettes of relevant existing customs pr ocedures in the local or national language, but 
Internet publication of such procedures would be at  their discretion as and when capacity arises to 
enable them to do so. 
9. All developed Members should undertake all co mmitments upon entry into force of the any 
TF agreement.  There should be two categories of  commitments to be implemented by developing 
Members, subject to the provision of TACB where needed.  These categories would be: 
(a) A minimal set of commitments which w ould be determined individually by 
developing Members to be implemen ted after entry into force;  and 
(b) A set of commitments that would be implemented after the conclusion of a transition 
period of X years determined on the basis of  Paragraph 13 below after the entry into 
force of the TF agreement. 
10. Other commitments that do not fall under eith er category above would be implemented by 
developing and least developed Members as and wh en appropriate in their development context.  TN/TF/W/147 
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  III. NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND TACB BEFORE SIGNING 
11. The proponents recall Paragraph 5 of Annex D of the 2004 July Framework and Paragraph 6 
of Annex E of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarati on that stress the importance of the provision of 
TACB to assist developing Members in fully par ticipating in the negotiations.  Such commitments 
have yet to be made operational.  Full and effectiv e participation by developing Members in the TF 
negotiations is an essential prerequisite towards ensuring that the negotiated outcomes reflect their 
issues and concerns.  In this regard, TACB must be provided to support effective involvement of 
developing Members' experts in the negotiations, pr ovide for policy research and analysis (especially 
with respect to specific proposals), and identify individual country-specific TF needs and priorities. 
12. The other area of focus for TACB is to assist  developing members to undertake capacity self-
assessment to determine the commitments for whic h domestic implementation capacity already exists 
and where technical assistance is required.  
IV. NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND TACB POST-ENTRY INTO FORCE AND THE ROLE 
OF THE WTO TF TACB SUPPORT UNIT 
A. NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND TRANSITION PERIODS FOR IMPLEMENTATION  
13. In addition to the conduct of TACB-supported capacity self-assessment prior to the signing of 
the TF Agreement, the transition period referred to in Paragraph 9(ii) above should be of sufficient 
duration after the entry into force of the TF agreem ent within which to:  (a) develop a plan for the 
implementation of commitments;  and (b) undertak e the domestic measures that may be needed to 
enable developing Members to implement these mandatory commitments.  The determination of 
acquisition of implementation capacity should be at the discretion of the individual LDC concerned. 
14. For both sets of commitments under Paragra ph 9(i) and (ii) above, implementation by 
developing Members should be deferred if they  continue to lack implementation capacity.  
B. PROVISION OF TACB   
15. In the spirit of mutual partnership, donor s and developed Members should provide TACB 
support to those developing Members that require and request such support in connection with:  (i) the 
conduct of the negotiations;  (ii) the conduct of  the self-assessment for the determination of 
commitments for which implementation capacity already exists;  and (iii) the building of 
implementation capacity for the other commitments referred to in Paragraphs 12 and 13 above.  
16. Requests for TACB support for implementation of commitments identified by individual 
developing countries should be submitted to the WTO TF TACB Support Unit.  The procedures for requesting TACB should be simple, transparent and not unduly burdensome for developing Members, 
especially for LDCs, given their fina ncial means and other constraints. 
17. The TACB to be provided should be on the basi s of the request and specifications of the 
requesting Member. Developing Members requesti ng TACB could also consult with donors to 
determine the TACB projects or activities that will be required to build implementation capacity for 
specific commitments.  The developing Member who is a TACB recipient should be the one to 
determine to its satisfaction when such implemen tation capacity has been acquired, or it may also 
choose to work out a mutual arrangement with th e donor concerned for joint determination of the 
acquisition of implementation capacity. 
18. Such support shall be on the basis of the re questing Member's needs and capacity-building 
plan and shall be provided in coordination with donors and developed Members.  It should also be TN/TF/W/147 
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  without prejudice to supplemental TACB requests as further TACB needs may arise.  TACB should 
be provided, with the assistance of the WTO TF TACB Support Unit, to least-developed Members to 
enable them to prepare their TACB requests.  
19. The implementation of mandatory commitments shall be undertaken by developing Members 
after X months after they have concluded that individual implementation capacity has been acquired 
pursuant to the provision of the necessary TACB s upport.  Verification of capacity acquisition shall 
be self-determined or, if agreed by the developing Member concerned, in consultation with the donor 
or developed Member that provi ded the relevant TACB support. 
C. T
HE ROLE OF THE WTO  TF TACB  SUPPORT UNIT 
1. Providing adequate, effective, precise a nd operational TACB is a question of mutual 
partnership between the donors and the recipients.  The WTO should assist Members in 
coordinating and facilitating TACB resources that  must be provided by developed Members 
with the TACB needs that may be identified by developing Members.  A TF TACB Support 
Unit could be created within the WTO Secretariat to handle this function. 
 
2. Furthermore, the TF agreement should cont ain clear and operational commitments by 
developed Members to provide TACB support to developing Members.  Operational 
modalities that facilitate and improve the delivery of such TACB to the recipients, and which 
are appropriate to the requirements and resour ce constraints of developing Members, should 
also be incorporated in a TF agreement. 
 V. FLEXIBILITY AND SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN LEVELS OF 
COMMITMENTS 
20. Appropriate special and differential treatment  should be provided to developing Members 
under which they can identify the specified minimal level of implementation of a measure to which 
they will commit to be bound.  Any further progre ssive implementation of such measure beyond the 
bound level would be undertaken at the discretion of the developing Member as appropriate and 
necessary for their domestic needs and capacity.  Developed Members, as appropriate and to the maximum extent possible, may wish to support su ch progressive implementation of measures beyond 
the minimum bound levels by providing additional TACB support as needed. 
21. Previous proposals from developing Members (such as the African Group in TN/TF/W/95) 
have stressed that GATS-rules type provisions coul d be used as the possible template for making 
binding commitments in a new TF agreement.  This means that for each specific obligation, 
developing Members could also indicate  the limitations or restrictions that they wish to place on their 
commitment to implement such obligation.  This would provide for effective, precise and operational 
special and differential treatment that goes beyond transition periods, as provided for in Annex D of 
the 2004 July Framework. 
22. Such special and differential treatment is n ecessary because of the varied development and 
economic conditions and circumstances that de veloping Members face.  Domestic regulatory 
flexibility continues to be required as a key element of national economic policymaking so as to allow 
them to take into account and respond to country-s pecific circumstances and situations.  One other 
way of ensuring special and differential treatment is to include a specific provision that safeguards domestic regulatory flexibility for developing Me mbers when required for reasons of national 
development policy.  TN/TF/W/147 
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  VI. EXCEPTIONS TO COMMITMENTS 
23. GATT Articles XX and XXI will apply to any TF agreement. 
VII. LDC PROVISIONS 
24. Least-developed Members would not be required to implement any commitments unless their 
requests for the provision of the necessary TACB s upport have been adequately responded to in a 
timely manner by developed Members on a demand- driven, need-based, and sustainable basis, 
specifically tailored to the needs and requirements of each individual recipient country. 
25. When an LDC Member has acquired capac ity to implement any Trade Facilitation 
commitments, the implementation of these commitments shall be determined by the Least Developed Member concerned.  
VIII.  EARLY WARNING MECHANISM 
26. Consideration could be given to an early warning mechanism under which developing and 
LDC Members can inform the WTO that there is goi ng to be a delay in implementing a commitment. 
IX. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 
27. Members should first exhaust the use of C onsultations, Good Offices, Conciliation or 
Mediation as mechanisms for ensuring compliance with commitments, including commitments on the 
part of developed Members to provide both TA CB modalities and TACB support itself, which they 
are implementing.  As the last resort, the Disput e Settlement Understanding may be resorted to in 
order to settle disputes in this regard. 
28. Finally, no developing or least-developed Member  should be brought by any other Member to 
dispute settlement proceedings under the Dispute Settlement Understanding in order to enforce 
compliance with commitments that such developing or least-developed Member is not yet 
implementing. 
 
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