RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
5 December 2008 
 (08-5967) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Fifty-First Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 22 OCTOBER 2008 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Jean Feyder (Luxembourg) 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD /LDC/11) ...................................................................................................................1  
(I) Market Access for Leas t-Developed Countries...........................................................................1  
(II) Trade-related Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for 
Least-Developed Countries...................................................................................................... .13 
(III) Accession of Least-Developed Countries to the WTO ..............................................................16  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................18  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. As introductory remarks, proposing th e agenda for adoption, the Chairman  said that since the 
last session of the Sub-Committee held in June 2008 , several significant events had taken place.  An 
informal Ministerial meeting was held in the WTO in July 2008, which had made certain progress in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)  negotiations.  The current financ ial crisis had made an adverse 
impact on the world economy.  There was a slow down of economic activities around the world.  A 
number of developed countries were experiencing a recession which in turn could have a significant 
impact on the LDCs.  He hoped that the Sub-Comm ittee would continue to follow the developments 
in these areas.   
2. The Sub-Committee adopted
 the draft agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/3259. 
B. WTO WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (WT/COMTD /LDC/11) 
3. The Chairman  said that he would take up three elements of the WTO Work Programme for 
the LDCs:  (i) market access for LDCs;  (ii) tr ade-related technical assistance and capacity-building 
initiatives for LDCs;  and (iii) accession of LDCs to the WTO.   
(I) Market Access for Least-Developed Countries 
- Market Access for Products and Services of Expor t Interest to Least-Developed Countries 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/42) 
 
4. The Chairman  recalled that according to the Work Programme for LDCs, the Secretariat 
prepared a document each year to facilitate th e annual review of market access for products 
originating from LDCs.  The note contained in  document WT/COMTD/LDC/W/42 was the latest WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 2  
 
  market access review by the Secretariat.  It prov ided an account of trends in LDC trade of goods and 
commercial services.  It looked at market access conditions for LDC exports and provided information on market access initiatives taken in favour of LDCs.  He invited the Secretariat to introduce its note.  
5. The representative of the Secretariat
 said that the note provided information on recent trends 
of LDC trade, market access conditions for LDC ex ports and recent initiatives taken by Members to 
improve market access for products originating from LDCs.  The note also provided information on 
the participation of LDCs in international trade in commercial services.  He said that lack of data on 
LDC trade and market access conditions had continued to pose a challenge to the Secretariat's work.  
In this regard, the Secretariat had improved the methodology used to explain the trends in LDC trade 
as well as the coverage of data.  Work with several Members was going on to improve compiling 
trade data of LDCs with those Members.  He point ed out that the current year's study had used the 
shift-share methodology to measure the relative eff ects of global trends and structural changes of 
LDC exports.  In addition, efforts had been made to im prove statistical coverage of South-South trade.   
6. He said that LDCs' share of world trade stood at  0.8 per cent in 2007.  The rapid rise in the 
price of fuels and minerals since 2003 had acce lerated the export earnings of LDCs.  As a 
consequence, the LDCs as a group had witnessed a pos itive trade balance in 2006 and 2007.  In this 
regard, the individual situation of each LDC could vary considerably from the overall performance of 
the group as resource endowments and export speci alizations were not the same in all LDCs. 
7. The participation of LDCs in services trade was limited.  The LDCs accounted for only 
0.4 per cent of world trade in services in 2006.  Ho wever, services, especially tourism, dominated the 
export structure of a number of LDCs.  Receipt s from international tourism in LDCs had been 
expanding.  The market share of LDCs in internati onal tourist arrivals was 1.4 per cent in 2006, while 
the share of LDCs in international travel receipts was 0.8 per cent.   
8. He went on to explain the shift-share methodology used for the first time  in the Secretariat's 
analysis, with the objective of measuring the relative effects of the following factors in the evolution 
of LDC exports:  (i) global trends affecting inte rnational trade;  (ii) world demand for specific 
products and product groups;  (iii) dy namism of LDCs' markets of destination;  and (iv) influence of 
national and residual factors that might have affected the supply and competitiveness of export 
activity.  Table 7 of the note analyzed the struct ural changes affecting LDCs' trade between 2000 and 
2006.  It showed that oil and mineral exporting LD Cs had registered an annual growth rate of 
25 per cent during the period 2000 to 2006, which w as higher than the normal evolution of world 
trade.  On the other hand, the export perform ance of LDCs specializin g in agricultural and 
manufacture products was below 13 per cent per year for the same period.   
9. The average annual growth of LDC exports during the period 2000 to 2006 was 19 per cent.  
Based on the shift-share analysis, this growth pe rformance was explained in Table 7 which could be 
decomposed as follows:  (i) 76 per cent of growth was linked to fuels and mining;  (ii) 15 per cent was 
due to manufacture exports;  and (iii) 8 per cen t was accounted for by agricultural products.  
However, the results obtained at a disaggregated le vel were varied for different categories of LDC 
exporters.  For instance, the LDC agricultural expo rters had registered an annual growth rate of 
12.6 per cent during the period 2000 to 2006;  31 per cent of this growth could be attributed to 
agricultural exports.  He noted that the LDC exporte rs of agricultural products had registered a trade 
deficit of US$27 billion in 2007, which was US$4 billion higher than the deficit experienced in 2006.  
On the other hand, the oil exporting LDCs could be  characterized as mono-exporters since 99 per cent 
of their annual growth rate (24.6 per cent in the 2000 to 2006 period) was accounted for by fuel and 
mining exports.  The oil exporting LDCs had witn essed a trade surplus of US$38 billion in 2007 
reflecting the benefits accrued to them as a result of high fuel prices.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 3 
 
 
  10. He said that the LDCs had been able to broaden their market destination, in particular since 
the beginning of 2000.  Developing countries were ga ining weight in LDC exports due to a series of 
factors, including high demand for raw materials a nd fuels from LDCs.  In fact, 55 per cent of fuel 
exports from LDCs in 2006 was destin ed to developing economies.  He noted that South-South trade 
in 2006 represented 45 per cent of LDC trade.  Th e developed economies remained a dominant export 
destination for products which were labour-intensi ve.  These included clothing (97 per cent of LDC 
exports under HS 61 and 62 chap ters in 2006), beverages and tobacco (75 and 55 per cent, 
respectively), high value-added products of mi ning such as precious stones (81 per cent).   
11. Section III of the note presented information on market access conditions for LDC exports, 
including a review of preferential schemes.  He not ed that market access conditions were determined 
by both tariff as well as non-tariff measures.  Tabl e 11 of the note showed the trends in tariff 
treatment received by LDCs in developed country ma rkets between 1996 and 2006.  In that Table, the 
duty-free indicator had been computed excluding oil a nd arms.  He noted that the tariff on oil in most 
of the developed countries was zero on an MFN basis.  He pointed out that the share of duty-free imports by developed countries fro m LDCs had been stagnating since 1996, which had not been the 
case for exports from other developing countries.  While the share of overall duty-free exports by 
developing countries increased from 54 per cent in 1996 to 77 per cent in 2006, the duty-free indicator for LDCs only changed fr om 78 to 79 per cent during the same period.  Nevertheless, the LDCs had 
been enjoying favourable market access conditions vis-à-vis  other developing countries for certain 
labour-intensive products such as agriculture, tex tiles and clothing.  Ninety-three per cent of LDC 
exports of agricultural products  had benefited from duty-free treatment in 2006, compared to 
66 per cent for all developing countries.  Similarly, 71 per cent of LDC exports of textile products had 
received duty-free treatment in developed countries in 2006, as opposed to 34 per cent received by the 
developing countries.  Sixty-three per cent of clot hing exports from LDCs had entered duty free in 
developed country markets in 2006, while only 29 per cent of developing countries' clothing export 
had received duty-free treatment.  The lower figur e for duty-free exports of clothing to developed 
countries was due to the tariffs faced by Asian LDC e xporters of clothing into the US market.  He, 
noted, however, that despite the termination of th e Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) at the 
end of 2004, which eliminated quotas and in spite of facing tariffs, a number of Asian LDCs had been 
able to maintain and even increase thei r clothing exports to the US market.   
12. He went on to say that tariff escalation was st eeper on products of export interest to LDCs 
than on those of interest to othe r developing countries.  While the average tariff faced by LDCs for 
semi-processed goods was 2.8 per cent in 2006, the figure went up to 6.4 per cent for manufactures 
(mainly clothing).  This was largely due to th e composition of LDC exports of manufactures which 
were limited to a range of prod ucts with high tariffs such as clothing, whereas other developing 
countries were able to diversify into a range of manufactures, such as information technology 
products, that were facing low tariffs or were receiving duty-free treatment on an MFN basis.   
13. Table 13 of the note presented detailed inform ation on market access conditions in selected 
developed country markets for the year 2006.  It could be seen from the Table that the duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) coverage had been 100 per cent or cl ose to it for non-agricultural products (fuels, 
minerals and raw materials).  Duty-free entry was low for non-agricultural products (mainly textile 
and clothing products), particularly in the US market.  In this regard, he pointed out that the utilization 
of preferential schemes could vary from one scheme to  another due to the prerequisites attached to 
preferential schemes.  Table 15 of the note presente d information on tariff treatment of LDC exports 
in selected developing country markets for the year 2006.  Eighty-three per cent of petroleum exports from LDCs entered developing country markets duty free in 2006.  That duty-free entry had been on 
an MFN basis.  He also noted that data on exis ting preferential schemes by developing countries was 
limited.   WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 4  
 
  14. Section IV of the note provided an update of the recent initiatives taken by Members to 
improve market access for products originating from LDCs, which included information on the 
implementation of the Hong Kong Ministerial Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs.  One notable development since the last report by the S ecretariat had been India's announcement of its Duty 
Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme for LDCs during the India-Africa Forum Summit in 
April 2008.  He drew Members' attention to Anne x Table 2 of the note, which provided an updated, 
non-exhaustive list of market access initiatives taken by Members since 2000. 
15. The representative of Lesotho,
 on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation to the 
Secretariat for its note.  The LDCs attached a hi gh degree of importance to the annual review by the 
Secretariat of market access for products originating from the LDCs.  The note provided a 
comprehensive picture of LDCs' trade and market  access conditions for their exports.  He also 
appreciated the efforts made by the Secretariat in  building on the statistical coverage from the earlier 
reviews.   
16. He noted that the aggregate growth rate of LD C exports had outperformed that of the world 
average.  That was largely due to a select number of oil exporting LDCs which heavily dominated the 
export profile of LDCs.  Oil and minerals accounted for nearly 60 per cent of LDC exports in 2006.  
The impressive growth of LDC exports, driven by oil and mineral products, had contributed to the 
overall trade surplus enjoyed by the Group in 2006 and 2007.  However, this overall growth performance had been masking the heterogenous ex port performance of individual LDCs.  While oil 
exporting LDCs had registered a sizable trade surplu s in 2007, the LDC exporters of both agriculture 
and manufactures had continued to register a trad e deficit, including in 2007.  The exporters of 
agricultural products had registered the largest im balances among all categories of LDC exporters in 
2007.  He underlined the need to reverse this situ ation.  He said that a qualitative change in LDC 
exports could only come when agricultural expor ters would start benefiting from world trade, 
including through moving up in the value chain. 
17. He said that export concentration had continued to be one of the distinguishing features of the 
LDC export profile.  Only three products accounted fo r more than 70 per cent of export revenues for a 
number of LDCs in 2006.  Lack of diversificati on had been preventing the LDCs from utilizing the 
market access opportunities offered to them.  He hoped that Members would take due note of the 
capacity constraints in the LDCs.  That was the reason why market access should be meaningful and 
effective.  At the same time, removing market access barriers for LDC e xports would not be enough 
to generate a supply response.  The LDCs needed  assistance to diversify their export base.  He 
stressed that enhanced market access and capacity building should go hand-in-hand.  One without the 
other was unlikely to give necessary impetus to LDC exports.   
18. He underscored the importance of improving market access for products originating from 
LDCs.  In this regard, he expressed gratitude to those Members which had provided LDCs with DFQF 
market access.  He called upon other Members to expeditiously implement the DFQF market access 
Decision taken at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005.  He said that he was concerned that 
the value of DFQF access to the LDCs would be me aningless if the Decision were put into effect too 
late.  He pointed out that the duty-free entry into developed markets in 2006 was 79 per cent of LDC exports, whereas 77 per cent of developing country exports entered developed countries on a duty-free 
basis.  He stressed that all LDC products should get DFQF market access without any exception, as 
called upon by the Ministerial Declaration adopted  in Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  There 
should also be parallel progress in the simplification of  preferential rules of origin.  Numerous studies 
had found that restrictive rules of origin had been  hurting the prospects of LDC exports.  He regretted 
that there had been very little progress in the area of  preferential rules of origin faced by LDC exports. 
19. The recent financial crisis had made a profound impact on the major economies.  With jobs 
and incomes declining in these major economies, the LDCs would be facing dire consequences.  The  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 5 
 
 
  recession in the US had already hit some of the deve loping countries.  He pointed out that the weak 
demand arising from the recession might lead to pro duction cutbacks in the LDCs, with the possibility 
of closure of some production units.  As a result,  export earning would dwindle, putting a severe 
strain on the external current account balance of the LDCs.  He expressed concern that the current 
financial crisis might adversely affect the attainme nt of the Millennium Development Goals, including 
alleviation of poverty in the LDCs.  Therefore, dr astic measures were needed to contain the adverse 
consequences from the current financial crisis.   
20. He reiterated that the LDCs were committed to  the speedy conclusion of the Doha Round of 
negotiations.  In this regard, he  called upon Members to effectively address all submissions made by 
LDCs in the negotiations with a view to ensuring a positive impact on LDCs' trade.  He said that all 
Members had a stake in the Doha Round of negotia tions and in further st rengthening the multilateral 
trading system.  The LDCs hoped to see an ambiti ous outcome of the current Round, including in the 
area of market access.  He concluded by requesting the Chairman to keep the item on the agenda of 
the next meeting of the Sub-Committee at which the LDCs could come up with additional comments.   
21. The representative of Bangladesh  associated his delegation with the statement made by the 
representative of Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He said that the note was keenly awaited every 
year.  The information on LDC trade contained in the note was comprehensive.  He appreciated the 
efforts made by the Secretariat to broaden the statis tical coverage of LDC trade.  The share of LDCs 
in world trade had remained below 1 per cent, although LDCs' share in world population was around 12 per cent.  That had been so despite the impressi ve aggregate growth performance of the LDCs in 
recent years.  The challenges faced  by the LDCs were multifaceted and needed concerted efforts from 
the international community. 
22. The world had been undergoing a series of crises  over the past few years.  It had been 
experiencing crises in three areas, which could be te rmed as the three "f"s – fuel, food and finance.  
The rise in fuel prices which began in early 2003 had continued to pose a seri ous challenge to the oil 
importing LDCs.  Since the beginning of the year, a majority of LDCs had been suffering from the 
abnormal rise of food prices.  As most of the LDCs were net-food importing developing countries 
(NFIDCs), they had been grappling with adverse ba lance-of-payments situation.  The recent financial 
crisis – the extent and magnitude could be higher than the previous crises – was a major cause of 
concern.  He noted that the LDCs were more vulne rable to external shocks than other developing 
countries.   
23. He expressed concern that the global fina ncial crisis would ha ve serious economic 
consequences on the fledgling economies of LDCs.  The financial bail out plans and other measures 
being announced by developed partne rs might affect the quantum of aid available for the LDCs.  Due 
to the recession in the major developed economies, LDC exports might be a casualty leading to job losses and balance-of-payments difficulties.  In this  regard, he informed Members that the garment 
exporters of Bangladesh at this point of time had received lower orders from its buyers compared to 
that of last year.  He expressed further concern that the slowdown of economies in developed 
countries might affect the remittance flows to the LDCs.  That would deepen the worsening balance-of-payments situation of LDCs.  He requested  the Secretariat to include in its next review a 
detailed analysis of the financial cris is and its impact on the LDCs.   
24. He went on to say that the Secretariat note ha d been useful in tracking developments in the 
implementation of the Hong Kong Decision on DFQF ma rket access for LDCs.  Despite the delay in 
the conclusion of the DDA Round, almost all developed Members of the WTO had provided the 
LDCs with DFQF market access.  That deserved specia l appreciation.  However, he noted that the US 
was the only developed country Member yet to implement the Hong Kong Decision on DFQF market 
access for LDCs.  Referring to Table 13 of the note, he said that while 82 per cent of tariff lines of 
non-agricultural products were duty free in 2006, th e percentage of duty-free imports was merely WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 6  
 
  14.6 per cent.  It implied that the LDCs were not granted effective market access for non-agricultural 
products into the US market.  The LDCs, on averag e, had two to three major export products which 
constituted more than 70 per cent of their export ear nings.  If these products were excluded from the 
DFQF coverage, the LDCs would not be able to in crease their export earnings.  He stressed that the 
implementation of the Hong Kong Ministerial Deci sion on the DFQF market access for LDCs should 
be commercially meaningful to the LDCs.  He hoped that the US would soon provide LDCs with 
DFQF market access on a comprehensive basis. 
25. The representative of the United States
 thanked the Secretariat for its comprehensive note.  
The document provided valuable insights on export performance of the LDCs.  She found that many 
sections of the note had made a valuable contribution to  the literature in this area.  In particular, she 
appreciated the discussion in paragraphs 55 and 56 of the note, which highlighted the potential for 
improving LDCs' market access in developing countries.  Market access for LDCs to developing countries would only increase in importance, includi ng through the preference programmes offered by 
these countries and through new mark et access achieved in the Doha Round of negotiations.  In this 
regard, she noted that the IMF's April 2008 economic outlook projected that 50 per cent of global 
economic growth between now and 2 013 would be provided by China, India, Brazil, Argentina and 
the ASEAN countries.   
26. She also appreciated the Secretariat's analysis in Box 3 of the note concerning LDCs' 
competitiveness and export-transaction costs.  The info rmation contained therein highlighted the need 
for continued work on trade facilitation which aimed at reducing the costs associated with exports.  
These costs had contributed to decr eased competitiveness of LDC exports.  It would be interesting if a 
future Secretariat note could also reflect whether export-transaction costs played a part in the low 
levels of export diversification in the LDCs.  Th e issue of low diversification of LDC exports was 
discussed in paragraphs 49 and 58 of the note.  She supported the request made by the representative 
of Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs, to devote more  attention to the export diversification issue in 
future Secretariat analyses.   
27. She highlighted some of the technical as well as substantive concerns of her delegation with 
the note.  On a technical point, she said that th e document appeared to report trade flows from LDCs 
in many different parsings.  In this regard, sh e appreciated the Secretariat's explanation of the 
Shift-Share methodology, including the limitations, so that readers could make their own determinations about the usefulness of the analysis .  It would have been more helpful if the Box 
explaining this methodology was at the beginning of the discussion instead of at the end.  She pointed 
out that the second and third sentences in paragr aph 55 of the note had created a double negative and 
suggested that one of the sentences be deleted.  He r delegation would suggest deletion of the latter of 
the two sentences.   
28. She continued by saying that her delegation had some substantive concerns with the 
information presented in specific paragraphs of the note.  Paragraphs 51 and 53 of the document noted 
the low value of manufactured goods from Asian LD C exporters of clothing entering the US market 
duty free.  She acknowledged the validity of this clai m.  However, she underlined that it was equally 
important for the document to note the tremendous  competitive success and the huge market share 
gains that these same Asian LDC exporters had ac hieved in the US since 2005 when quotas were 
lifted.  That achievement had come even after pa ying MFN tariffs.  She also noted that the last 
sentence in paragraph 61 and the footnote to that sentence (footnote 21) appeared to speculate on the 
reasons for the low level of diversification of LD C exports to the US and Japan, without providing a 
justification for that speculation.  There was no discussion of the transport or supply-side constraints on the part of LDCs that might also contribute to the low diversification of LDC exports to these specific regions.  She requested that the Secretar iat substantiate these claims, elaborate on other 
contributing factors or remove the claims from the report.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 7 
 
 
  29. She said that her delegation was generally con cerned that paragraphs 65 through 67 of the 
note did not fully reflect the position of all Members participating in the Doha  Round of negotiations.  
While she appreciated the fact that the note was sp ecifically focussed on the market access interests of 
LDCs, she felt that noting only the LDC interests in  one aspect of the Doha Round of negotiations did 
not present an accurate account of the current dynamics in the negotiations.  She reiterated the 
commitment of the US to implement the Hong K ong Ministerial Decision on DFQF market access for 
the LDCs.   
30. She went on to say that the last sentence of pa ragraph 66 required a caveat, similar to the one 
included in paragraph 67, noting that WTO Members had not agreed that rules of origin should be modified for any countries.  In this regard, she s uggested a specific language for consideration by the 
Secretariat for inclusion in paragraph 66.  She quoted  as follows:  "It should, however, be noted that 
in the end, Members did not reach agreement to provide these concessions."  In conclusion, she hoped 
that the Secretariat would take into account th e comments made by her delegation in any revised 
version of the note.   
31. The representative of Senegal
 thanked the Secretariat for its informative note, which he found 
to be of high quality.  He associated his delegati on with the statement made by the representative of 
Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He noted that th e total LDC exports in 2007 had tripled compared to 
their 2000 value.  That was a positive development for LDCs.  He also noted the positive growth of 
LDC exports of commercial services.  It was enco uraging to find that the Gross National Income 
per capita in 23 LDC Members had grown fro m 2005 to 2007 (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/43).  He, 
however, expressed concern about some recent deve lopments in the world economy.  The recent 
increase in the world food prices had caused enormous  difficulties to the LDCs.  This had come at a 
time when the LDCs were struggling to cope with th e increased fuel prices.  The high prices of oil had 
put a strain on the resources of a number of LDCs .  He also noted that the merchandise export growth 
of LDCs decreased to 19 per cent in 2007, and that th is was likely to accentuate in view of the present 
financial crisis.  He underl ined the importance of analyzing the imp act of the financial crisis on LDCs' 
development in a future Secretariat note.  He th en sought a clarification from the Secretariat.  
Referring to Table 1 of the note, he requested the S ecretariat to explain the decline in the rate of 
growth of LDC exports in oil and mining products.  In  this regard, he noted that the export growth rate 
of oil had gone down from 59 per cent in 2005 to a much lower level in 2007.   
32. The representative of China  expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for its comprehensive 
document, which provided an up-to-date picture of  market access conditions for LDC exports.  The 
note had reminded the international community of the need to help LDCs benefit from the multilateral 
trading system, including by providing better market access conditions to them.  His delegation echoed the concern mentioned in the note that d espite the recent dynamic export performance, the 
LDCs had remained a marginal player in world trad e.  Therefore, substantial effort was needed from 
the international community to help the LDCs in world trade.  China was fully committed to working 
with the LDCs to accelerate their economic development.   
33. He made two particular observations on the note.  First, he said that footnote 9 in page 14 of 
the English version of the note was not corr ect, as China's imports from LDCs in 2006 was 
19.5 per cent and not 29.5 per cent as was mentioned in that footnote.  Second, he pointed out that China provided DFQF market access to all 30 African LDCs, having diplomatic relations with China, 
and not 27 African LDCs, as quoted in paragraph 69 of the note.  Although the note had taken that 
figure from a communication by China in the Committee on Trade and Development 
(WT/COMTD/W/164), his authorities had mentioned that figure due to the fact that the process with 
the remaining three African LDCs to grant them DFQF market access had not been finalized.  He 
clarified that those three African LDCs were also  eligible to benefit from the DFQF market access 
initiative taken by his authorities.  He requested that the two corrections he had pointed out be 
reflected into any revised version of the note.   WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 8  
 
  34. The representative of th e European Communities
 noted that the Secretariat study had been 
growing each year, which demanded adequate time  for thorough examination.  The document was 
circulated only a week before this meeting.  She underlined the need for adva nce circulation of a note 
of this kind for detailed examination by Members.  She then made a few preliminary comments on the 
note.   
35. She agreed with the observation made by the re presentative of Lesotho that the growth of 
LDC exports was concentrated in a limited numbe r of products.  The overall LDC export profile had 
remained vulnerable.  Fuel and mineral products had accounted for the lion's share of LDC exports.  
However, it was encouraging to note that th e LDCs had been able to increase their export 
destinations, in particular to the developing country markets.  She noted that developing countries had 
accounted for nearly half of LDC exports in 2006,  although a substantial amount of exports to 
developing countries was concentrated on raw material s.  The challenge for the LDCs was to increase 
exports of value-added pr oducts to developing country markets.  The note highlighted the EC as being 
the main importer of LDCs' agricultural products.  That was an important contribution to the LDC 
economies, as the agricultural sector was not only la bour-intensive but also critical in alleviating 
poverty in the LDCs.   
36. She went on to make a few specific remarks with  regard to the data presented in Tables 6 and 
13 of the note.  Although she recognized that these two Tables presented data for two different time periods, she wondered why the figures for imports of ag ricultural products by the EC were different in 
the two Tables.  Her delegation also had a questio n on Table 13 concerning imports into the EC of 
non-agricultural products from LDCs.  She would take these issues up bilaterally with the Secretariat.  
She appreciated the analysis contained in Box 3 of the note, which touched upon the issue of LDC 
competitiveness and export transaction costs.  She s uggested that the analysis could be further 
expanded, including an examination of various transaction costs impacting on LDC exports.  She 
welcomed the inclusion of information on tariff escala tion faced by the LDCs.  The data presented in 
the note confirmed the fact that the problems relatin g to tariff escalation were not located in the EC.  
That would help clarify the issue to certain quarter s which had held a persistent prejudiced notion in 
this area.   
37. She lent her voice to those advocating achievement of the objective of DFQF market access 
for LDC products.  The market access section of the note had provided an analytical and factual 
presentation of information on the implementati on of the Hong Kong Ministerial Decision on DFQF 
market access for LDC products.  The Secretariat stud y had shown that there were some gaps in the 
implementation of DFQF market access for LDC products, especially for non-agricultural products.  
There was also room for further improvement of mark et access in the developing country markets, as 
currently the LDCs were exporting mainly oil and mineral products to these markets.  Her delegation 
would continue to examine the note and reflect on possible ways to make good use of it.  
38. The representative of Japan
 thanked the Secretariat for its informative and comprehensive 
note.  He shared the views expressed by the repr esentative of the US.  He took the opportunity to 
welcome the establishment of the enhanced Integrat ed Framework (EIF) Executive Secretariat.  He 
was happy to announce that his authorities would contribute to the EIF an amount of US$158,000 for the year 2008.  He reiterated the commitment of hi s country to the Integrated Framework (IF).   
39. The representative of India
 complimented the Secretariat for its note.  His delegation had 
found the note useful.  The analysis to be carried out by the Secretariat in the following year should 
provide suggestions to mitigate the adverse impact of the financial crisis on the LDCs.  He drew the 
attention of Members to Chart 6 of the note, whic h showed that India had been the sixth largest 
market for LDC merchandise exports in 2006.  His authorities had announced the DFQF market 
access scheme for all LDCs, on the occasion of the Indi a-Africa Forum Summit held in April 2008.  
The scheme would cover 92.5 per cent of LDC expor ts and would be implemented over a period of  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 9 
 
 
  five years.  This had been, as was also noted in the Secretariat document, the first announcement 
made by a developing country Member of the WTO to implement the Decision on DFQF market access for LDCs taken at the Hong Kong Ministeria l Conference in 2005.  He stressed that the 
Decision on the DFQF market access for LDCs should be implemented in a meaningful, effective and 
expeditious manner. 
40. The representative of the Secretariat
 said that a revision of the note would be issued taking 
into account the comments made at the meeting.  A number of delegations had pointed out that the note had been growing in content, which could explain some of the mistakes in the note.  He said that 
Chart 6 on page 14 of the English version of the note showed that China accounted for 19.5 per cent 
of all LDC exports in 2006, while the figure was in correctly quoted in footnote 9 as 29.5 per cent.  
This error would be corrected in the revised vers ion of the note.  He thanked the representative of 
China for pointing out this mistak e.  With regard to the comment s made by the representative of the 
US, he said that footnote 21, which appeared to sp eculate on the reasons for the low diversification of 
LDC exports to the US and Japan would be dropp ed, as it would require a specific research to 
substantiate the statement made therein.  Other co mments made by the delegation of the US would be 
duly taken into account in the revised version of  the note.  Referring to the query from the 
representative of Senegal concerning the reason for the decline in the growth of oil exporters in 2007, 
he said that Table 3 had provided the evolution of export price for selected commodities.  During 
2004 and 2005, the price of energy had increased by  an annual growth rate of 31 and 39 per cent, 
which explained the jump in the growth of oil ex porters.  In 2007, the average price increase of 
energy was only 10 per cent.  In response to the comments from the EC, he said that the Secretariat 
had been working with the EC experts in Brussels on the preference data.  It had recently received a 
communication from the EC, but had been unable to in corporate the information into the Secretariat's 
database since some statistical problems needed to be  sorted out.  He hoped that the Secretariat would 
be able to better reflect the LDC trade with th e EC in its next market access review study.   
41. The Chairman
 noted that the growth rate of LDC exports had been higher than the average 
global growth in recent years.  This was largely due to the growth of petroleum and mining exports 
from the LDCs.  The LDC exports of commercial serv ices had also grown over the years.  The LDCs 
had been enjoying DFQF market access to deve loped country markets with a few exceptions.  
Developing countries had also been providing im proved market access opportunities to LDCs, which 
accounted for nearly half of LDC e xports in 2006.  He took note of the concerns raised with respect to 
the impact on LDC exports arising from the current financial crisis.  He hope d that the international 
community would extend its support to the LDCs to cushion the crisis at hand and to consolidate the 
gains from their participation in world trade.  He also hoped that the Follow-up International 
Conference on Financing for Development to Re view the Implementation of the Monterrey 
Consensus, to be held in Doha (Qatar) from 29 November to 2 December 2008, would address the 
concerns of LDCs.  He proposed that the item be kept on the agenda for the next meeting of the 
Sub-Committee.  Taking into account the comments made  at the meeting, the Secretariat would revise 
the current version of the note for Members' considera tion at the next meeting.  He also proposed that 
the Sub-Committee take note of the document cont ained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/42, as well as of the 
statements made.   
42. It was so agreed . 
- Recent Developments in Agriculture Commod ity Prices and Least-Developed Countries 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/43)  
43. The Chairman
 recalled that in the context of the Sub-Committee's discussion on market 
access for LDCs the previous year, the LDCs had requested an examination of factors affecting production and trade of agricultura l products including food products .  An initial note on this topic 
was considered at the previous session of the Sub- Committee held in June 2008.  Building on that WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 10  
 
  note the Secretariat had prepared a detailed docum ent contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/43.  In view 
of its scope, the topic had been developed in a sep arate document instead of it being included in the 
Secretariat's annual market access paper.  The docu ment elaborated on the causes of the recent rise in 
the price of agricultural products and its impact on the LDCs.  It also highlighted some policy issues 
associated with the recent developments in agricultu re commodity prices.  He invited the Secretariat 
to introduce the note. 
44. The representative of the Secretariat
 said that the note had built on a previous paper by the 
Secretariat contained in JOB(08)/49.  It was not a comprehensive docum ent covering all aspects 
related to food prices and LDCs.  For instance, the note did not include a discussion on the Millennium Development Goals.  Nor did it contain a discussion on the role of food aid in attaining 
food security.  He said that depending on the discu ssion at the Sub-Committee, any section of the note 
or any specific aspect of the issue could be further developed.   
45. He said that the price of agriculture comm odities had risen substantially over the past 
two years reaching a peak in early 2008 after which it had started to fall.  While it was difficult to 
predict as to what extent the prices would fall, it were  unlikely to fall to the low levels seen in 2001.  
He pointed out that the prices of agriculture and other commodities were usually quoted and traded in 
US dollars but the impact of price changes within  a country depended more on the price change in 
domestic currency terms.  Taking the relative fall of  the dollar against many other currencies in recent 
times and taking the rise in incomes in the LDCs, the increase in prices was not as severe as it 
appeared in dollar terms.   
46. It was also noted that, to some extent, world agriculture prices responded sharply to relatively 
small changes in supply and demand.  There were se veral reasons for this.  One reason was the small 
quantity of agriculture commodities that were traded  internationally relative to world production.  
Thus, a small change in world pro duction could have a major impact on world trade.  However, world 
prices were not always good indicators of domestic prices.  Given that, in many countries, most 
production was consumed locally, local conditions  in developing countries, such as poor 
infrastructure and associated transport problems, influe nced prices at local level.  Moreover, in the 
wake of the increase in prices, governments in developing countries, in cluding LDCs, had taken 
measures – such as reductions of tariffs on agri culture commodities and/or introduction of export 
restrictions on certain foodstuff – to mitigate the consequences of higher prices.  Nevertheless, with 
increasing urbanization and population, along with unequal distribution of economic growth and 
income, higher food prices had had and were having  an adverse impact on the developing countries 
including LDCs, as shown by the number of civil disturbances witnessed around the world. 
47. He said that a number of approaches could be taken to assess the reasons behind the rise in 
food prices.  The Secretariat note had mostly con centrated on looking at the demand and supply-side 
dimension of the problem.  Elaborating on some of the demand-side factors, he said that population 
had increased in developing countries.  The income of the population, on average, had also gone up.  
With improved income, there had been a shift of consumption away from cereals to animal-derived 
proteins – meat, eggs and milk products.  Howe ver, production of animal  products required much 
higher quantities of feed grains.  Therefore, incr ease in meat consumption had had an impact on the 
price of cereals.  In fact, the price of cereals had gone up much faster than the price of meat.  In addition, there were new demands for agricultural produc ts.  Biofuels was a case in point.  It had been 
widely recognized that increased demand for biofuel was having an impact on food prices.  
48. In addition to changes in demand, there were  several factors on the supply side which had 
also contributed to the increase in prices.  First, it was noted that agriculture prices were inherently 
unstable.  The low levels of trade relative to pr oduction and the price inelasticity of cereals meant a 
modest change in supply would cause considerable fl uctuations in the prices.  For example, a low 
harvest in a big agricultural supplying country woul d have a significant impact on prices.  On the  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 11 
 
 
  other hand, although recently there had been projec tions of better harvest from some traditional as 
well as new suppliers of agriculture commodities, it might not lead to a dramatic fall in world food 
prices due to a number of reasons.  One reason was that the governments had released their stock onto 
the market to reduce the impact of high prices leadi ng to a record low level of stocks.  Therefore, a 
slight decrease in the price of agriculture comm odities would encourage the governments to rebuild 
their stock which would put an upward pressure on th e prices.  Another factor was the increase in 
consumption which had been higher th an production over the past few years.  As a result, in spite of 
better harvests, the price of agriculture commoditi es was unlikely to fall to the levels which would 
normally have been expected. 
49. He went on to say that there had been a dec line in the rate of growth of agricultural 
productivity.  The rate of increase in yield per hectare had been declining, in particular in the LDCs.  
One of the reasons for this worldw ide decline in productivity had been  the change in focus of public 
research and development in the area of agriculture.  Public agriculture research and development was 
less focussed on productivity improvements.  Inst ead, more attention was being given to other 
objectives such as quality, or the environment.  Howeve r, although this trend was a cause of concern, 
better use of the existing technology could lead to  significant productivity improvements in a number 
of developing countries, particularly LDCs.   
50. In looking at the impact of higher prices, he noted that there were different opinions as 
regards the winners and losers.  The World Bank a nd the International Food Policy Research Institute 
(IFPRI) studies had shown that benefits of higher  prices would accrue to net food-producers who 
made up only a small proportion of low-income popul ation in developing countries.  On the other 
hand, other studies suggested that the benefits  would be much more widely spread.   
51. Although higher prices were a threat to the welfare of many people, they were also an 
opportunity for policy change and a chance to reverse the historical discrimination against agriculture 
in developing countries.  This had often been applied through low governme nt procurement prices 
which had been common in many developing countries in  the past.  On the othe r hand, the agricultural 
sector had been encouraged in developed countries through subsidies which were directly linked to 
production and/or prices.  The DDA was an opportuni ty to reverse these trends and reinforce the 
reforms taking place in many countries by encour aging agriculture devel opment in developing 
countries with less competition from subsidized producti on in other countries.  Higher prices could, in 
this case, contribute by increasi ng the returns to farmers.  
52. In conclusion, he said that the current situ ation of high food prices would need to be 
addressed through short-, medium- and long-term po licy responses.  In the short term, export taxes 
and restrictions by exporters and reduced import duti es by importers might have helped insulate some 
markets from price rises but they had also contributed  to price volatility in the world market.  Other 
short-term measures included consumer subsidies, wh ich had been a heavy burden for some countries.  
Longer-term measures had the potential of having a greater impact, in particular improving 
productivity from the very low levels seen in many LDCs.  This could be achieved using existing 
technology but it needed to be accompanied by im provements in infrastructure, agriculture-related 
services and investment in research. 
53. The representative of Lesotho  thanked the Secretariat for the note, which had built on the 
paper circulated in June 2008.  He noted that food prices had started to decline in recent months.  He 
wondered whether that drop in food prices would re main for the foreseeable  future.  He expressed 
concern with the volatility of food prices.  In this  regard, he underlined the importance of examining 
the relative prices of commodities as the rise in prices was uneven between different commodities.  He felt that the developments in agriculture comm odity prices should be followed on a regular basis at 
the Sub-Committee.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 12  
 
  54. He said that international prices for export ear ning commodities of LDCs had been declining.  
This would also lead to a decline in export ear nings in LDCs impacting their ability to finance 
adequate levels of imports to feed their population.   The challenges faced by the LDCs in meeting the 
food demands of their population would become even mo re daunting than before.  In this regard, he 
noted that 40 out of 49 LDCs were NFIDCs.  Th e balance-of-payments situation of these LDCs had 
been deteriorating.  In addition, the current fi nancial crisis was likely to adversely affect the 
export/import financing in the LDCs.  He was furt her concerned that some of the agriculture 
commodity supplying countries might experience drought in the upcoming seasons, which would affect the world food production, accentuating th e present precarious situation of food prices.   
55. He underscored the importance of short-, me dium- and long–term measures to address the 
current high prices for food.  He noted the efforts be ing undertaken by the international community to 
mitigate the effects of the food price hike.  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) had organized a high-level C onference on World Food Security in June 2008 
with a view to finding solutions.  The Interna tional Labour Organization (ILO) had addressed the 
issue where the Prime Minister of Lesotho had delivered a keynote speech.  He drew Members' 
attention to the Conference held in July 2008 that had been organized by the LDC Group in 
cooperation with the Centre for Socio-Eco-No mic Development (CSEND).  A report on that 
Conference would be made available to the Members of the Sub-Committee soon. 
56. The representative of the United States
 thanked the Secretariat for its note.  Her delegation 
found the report informative.  A large number of fa ctors had been affecting agriculture commodity 
prices.  She noted that the document did not cover a number of areas.   The analysis of the impact of 
higher prices on the food situation of LDCs was shor t and did not provide sufficient analysis of the 
impact.  Her delegation would like further analysis of the impact in LDCs if a further study were 
undertaken in future.  Adequate coverage was also  required of the issue of high energy prices, and 
their implications for fertilizer and other input co sts, into the factors affecting agricultural price 
increases.  In Section III of the note, her delega tion did not necessarily agree with the point that 
imports were playing a small role in food consumpti on of developing countries.  In fact, developing 
countries had become more dependent on imports of  staple foods during the last three decades.  
Imports had accounted for nearly a third of vegetabl e oil consumption and nearly a quarter of wheat 
consumption in these countries in 2005.  In the LD Cs, this share was much higher – 56 per cent for 
vegetable oil and 46 per cent for wheat.   
57. Urbanization in LDCs had been growing, whic h was also noted in the document.  Urban 
consumption was highly supported by imported food b ecause of poor domestic infrastructure and high 
domestic transportation costs.  Si nce higher food prices were not tran smitted to farmers because of the 
poor infrastructure and high transportation costs, ur ban consumers felt the full impact.  That situation 
had led to riots in several countries and consequent ly to reductions in im port tariffs and consumer 
subsidies in some of these countries.  In conclu sion, she requested that the points that she had 
highlighted in her intervention be taken into account if  the Secretariat were to issue another version of 
the current note. 
58. The representative of Haiti  thanked the Secretariat for its  note, which had provided an 
overview of agriculture price trends, the causes of current rise in the prices of agriculture commodities 
and their impact on the LDCs.  He associated hi s delegation with the statement made by the 
representative of Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He said that since the opening of markets in 1980, 
his country had been facing economic crises, including problems faced in ensuring availability of food 
to its population.  There had been a collapse in th e local food production.  As a result, peasant farmers 
had left rural areas and had relocated themselves near  the towns.  A large amount of basic foodstuff 
was being imported into the country, which had disco uraged local production.  His country had been 
experiencing a deficit in its balance of payments since a long time.    WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 13 
 
 
  59. He noted the occurrence of famines in a number  of developing countries in recent times.  
Haiti was one of the most badly affected countries from the high food prices, leading to riots.  In fact, the food crisis had led to the fall of the Government.  He informed Members that his country had been 
lately struck by natural disasters, which had furt her aggravated the local food production.  He 
underscored the importance of identifying the u nderlying causes of the recent price increase of 
agriculture commodities.  He looked forward to the support from the international community to 
address hunger and underdevelopment as these were threats to peace and security.  
60. The Chairman
 said that the recent price increase in agriculture commodities was a cause of 
concern for the LDCs.  The Secretariat note explaine d the different factors that had caused this rapid 
rise in prices.  Higher world prices of food commodities had affected a majority of LDCs, particularly 
since most of them were NFIDCs.  The LDCs c ould face further challenges as the current financial 
crisis would soon manifest its impact on the real  economy.  In 2007, the LDC agricultural exporters 
had registered a trade deficit of US$24 billion wh ich was US$4 billion higher than 2006.  This 
situation was not encouraging.  The balance-of-payme nts situation in LDCs needed to be improved.  
The LDCs had enjoyed surplus in agriculture tr ade in the 1960s and 1970s.  He said that a large 
proportion of population in LDCs had been living in rural areas and had been relying on agriculture to 
earn their livelihoods.  There was an enormous pot ential for improving agricultural productivity in the 
LDCs.  He said that the Sub-Committee would conti nue to follow the developm ents in the trends of 
agriculture commodity prices and its implicatio ns for LDCs' trade.  He proposed that the 
Sub-Committee take note of the document contai ned in WT/COMTD/LDC/W/43, as well as of the 
statements made.  
61. It was so agreed . 
(II) Trade-related Technical Assistance and Capac ity-Building Initiatives for Least-Developed 
Countries 
- Overview of the Standards and Trade Devel opment Facility (STDF) – Report by the WTO 
Secretariat 
 
62. The Chairman  recalled that the STDF was a capacity- building initiative to help developing 
countries enhance capacity to comply with interna tional sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.  
The Sub-Committee had considered this item more than a year ago.  Since then, a number of 
developments had taken place.  He invited the S ecretariat to provide the Sub-Committee with an 
overview of the STDF, especially with rega rd to its implementation in the LDCs. 
63. The representative of the Secretariat  said that a majority of LDCs, particularly in Africa, were 
relying on agricultural exports to alleviate poverty.  These LDCs were facing challenges to achieve 
appropriate levels of SPS protection to be able to export.  For instance, due to pests such as fruit flies, 
30 to 85 per cent of mango production in West Afri ca was being damaged.  The rift valley fever in 
East Africa – an animal health disease – had been  affecting exports from the horn of Africa to the 
Gulf countries.  The inability to comply with f ood safety measures of importing countries was also a 
serious challenge for LDCs.  He underlined that SPS-compliance capacity was a supply-side 
constraint for LDCs. 
64. The STDF was established by the FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the 
World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO.  It was a global programme aimed 
at enhancing the capacity of developing countries to implement international SPS standards.  The 
programme also acted as a vehicle for coor dination among SPS-related technical cooperation 
providers.  Based on these aims, the STDF carried out three major functions.  First, it acted as a vehicle for the dissemination of good practices in relation to the provision and receipt of SPS-related WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 14  
 
  technical cooperation.  Second, it assisted developing countries to develop project proposals.  Third, it 
funded projects from developing countries, incl uding LDCs relating to SPS capacity building. 
65. He went on to say that two forms of financing were available through the STDF, namely:  
(i) Project Preparation Grants (PPGs);  and (ii) Project Grants.  Under the PPGs, up to US$30,000 was 
available to convert the identified needs into bankab le projects and to bridge a gap between identified 
needs and their articulation into bankable projects.  He said that as per the operational rules of the 
programme, 40 per cent of STDF's resources were devoted to the LDCs and other low-income 
economies.  The programme assisted countries to m obilize donor assistance to finance projects that 
were being developed under the STDF.  In this regard, he underlined the continuing synergies 
between the STDF and other programmes such as the EIF.  He noted that as of 15 October 2008, 
20 PPGs were benefiting the LDCs, representing 65.5 pe r cent of the total value of PPGs funded.  An 
examination of the projects being developed in the LD Cs revealed that they originated from priorities 
identified by their governments in the Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTISs) prepared under 
the IF.  He said that more than 70 per cent of the PPGs were allocated to sub-Saharan African 
countries. 
66. In the context of the Project Grants, he said that the STDF had been funding projects ranging 
from US$300,000 to US$600,000, although on a number  of occasions this limit had been surpassed.  
There existed a provision for beneficiary contribu tion, which was 10 per cent for LDCs and other 
low-income countries and 30 per cent for other developing countries.  The focus of funding had been on projects that were innovative and that promot ed good practices in the delivery of technical 
assistance.  The STDF also attached priority to pr ojects which could be impl emented in collaboration 
with other organizations.  As of 15 October 2008, a total of 15 proj ects benefited LDCs accounting for 
49 per cent of the value of all the projects being f unded under Project Grants.  In addition to these, 
projects developed through the STDF were also be ing funded through resources outside the STDF.  
More than 40 per cent of projects were allocated to  sub-Saharan Africa.  Twenty-eight per cent of 
projects were global projects including African and As ian developing countries.  He said that funding 
decisions were made by the STDF Working Group, which met three times a year. 
67. He went on to provide a few examples of STD F projects being implemented in LDCs.  Some 
of the projects being implemented under the Project Gr ants were:  (i) the horticulture export standards 
initiative in Rwanda;  (ii) strengthening phytosanitary  controls in Mali, especially focussing on mango 
trade and the impact of fruit fly;  (iii) strengthe ning the capacity of SPS officials in Nepal;  and 
(iv) pilot project to control fruit fly in eight West African countries.  The project portfolio under the 
PPGs, inter alia , included:  (i) strengthening SPS institutional framework in Tanzania;  (ii) action plan 
to coordinate donor actions on sesame in Burkin a Faso;  and (iii) improving fruit production SPS 
controls in Madagascar. 
68. He explained that the STDF had been working cl osely with the EIF, as well as with the Aid 
for Trade initiative.  Within the framework of th e Aid for Trade initiative, the STDF had organized 
three regional workshops in 2007 to mobilize resour ces in the area of food safety, animal and plant 
health.  The Africa regional Aid for Trade Review was held in Tanzania in October 2007.  As a 
follow-up to that meeting, a workshop had been pla nned in Uganda (Kampala) to identify the gaps in 
the delivery of SPS-related technical assistance.  In  this regard, he informed Members that the STDF 
had drawn up a plan to help countries to f ill the gaps between the identified needs and the 
corresponding support.  He said that the EIF pro cess in the LDCs would generate a number of 
SPS-related projects as SPS issues were identified as pr iorities in the DTISs.  In this regard, he 
underlined the importance of mobilizing resources, in particular for the funding of regional and 
national action plans on SPS capacity building.   
69. He continued by saying that a number of in formation sessions had been organized lately, 
which included, a workshop on labo ratory infrastructure, held in collaboration with the UNIDO, two  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 15 
 
 
  seminars;  one on capacity evaluation tools and th e other on private standards.  In addition, a 
workshop on good practices in the delivery and project  design of technical assistance was held in 
cooperation with the OECD.  In conclusion, he said that the 2009 meetings of the STDF Working 
Group were tentatively scheduled to take place on 27 February, 26 June and 16 October, respectively.  
The next deadline for the submission of project proposals was 19 December 2008.  These proposals 
would be considered at the 27 February 2009 meeting of the STDF Working Group. 
70. The representative of Lesotho , on behalf of the LDCs, expressed appreciation to the 
Secretariat for its informative presentation.  The LDCs depended heavily on the agriculture 
commodities for their export revenues.   At the same time, the LDCs  were significant importers of 
food and agricultural products.  Capacity building in the area of standards was important to the LDCs.  
Meeting SPS requirements in importing markets had b ecome an essential element to maintain and to 
expand market access for LDC products.   
71. He said that non-tariff measures (NTMs) were be coming a new effective instrument of market 
protection.  As tariffs were being lowered, NTMs were being raised.  While he recognized the need 
for protection against the human, animal and e nvironmental consequences from SPS-related hazards, 
he said that LDCs were characterized by a weak institutional capacity to deal with SPS standards.  
That might marginalize them in world trade.  In this regard, he underlined the need for meaningful 
and expeditious technical assistance for the LDCs.  He stressed that technical assistance should be 
effective, user-driven and needs- based.  The LDCs should be prepar ed to take full advantage of 
improved market access opportunities provided to them, including through the DDA negotiations. 
72. He said that the food inspection systems in im porting countries were becoming more stringent 
to ensure higher levels of protection to consumers.   That could raise the cost of LDC exports into 
those markets.  He underscored the need for targ eted and sustainable SPS-related capacity-building 
support for the LDCs.  The ability of LDCs to gain and maintain market access would depend on the 
LDCs' capacity to implement international SPS standa rds.  He called for further strengthening of the 
STDF programme so as to effectively and expeditio usly address the LDC needs in the area of SPS 
standards. 
73. The Chairman  said that he was pleased to note that  a number of LDCs had been benefiting 
from the STDF.  The donor base was increasing, whic h had allowed funding of an increased number 
of projects including in the LDCs.  In-depth an alysis of SPS needs was being undertaken.  He 
recognized the importance of building capacity in the area of standards.  He said that the continuing 
synergy between the STDF and other initiatives su ch as the EIF and Aid for Trade could bring 
benefits to the LDCs.  He proposed that the Sub-Committee take note of the report made by the 
Secretariat, as well as of the statement made. 
74. It was so agreed . 
- Implementation of the Enhanced In tegrated Framework – Progress Report 
 75. The Chairman
 said that the EIF Board had been worki ng relentlessly to finalize the elements 
to fully operationalize the EIF.  He welcomed Ms. Dorothy Tembo to the meeting.  Mrs. Tembo had 
assumed office as the Executive Direct or of the Executive Secretariat for the EIF on 1 October 2008.  
Ms. Tembo was previously the Chief Trade Negotiator for the Government of Zambia.  He said that in 
her capacity as the Director of Foreign Trade, Ms. Tembo had also served as Zambia's IF Focal Point 
and had brought to the Executive Secretariat firs t-hand experience and understanding of the IF.  He 
congratulated Ms. Tembo on her appointment as the Executive Director.  He noted that with the 
appointment of Ms. Tembo, the Executive Secretar iat – a key element for the EIF operationalization – 
had been established.  He invited the Chairman of  the EIF Interim Board, Ambassador Maruping, to 
provide the Sub-Committee with a report on progress made in making the EIF fully operational.   WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 16  
 
  76. The Chairman
 of the EIF Interim Board recalled the rationale for the EIF, which was to 
increase resources to implement DTIS Action Matrices, strengthened in-country capacities to manage the IF process and to enhance IF governance at th e global level.  The EIF was also intended to 
increase coordination among IF partners and to ensure  effective ownership of the LDCs in the IF 
process.  A better monitoring and evaluation framework  for the EIF was also needed to achieve the 
intended objectives of the IF. 
77. He said that he was pleased to note that th e EIF Trust Fund Manager, the United Nations 
Office for Project Services (UNOPS), had been a ppointed.  Several donors had already contributed to 
the EIF Trust Fund.  In this regard, he recalled the Stockholm Pledging Conference in 2007 which had 
been instrumental in mobilizing funds for the EIF Trust Fund.  He also noted that a number of donors 
were funding actions identified in the DTISs th rough a variety of bilateral channels.   
78. He went on to say that the Executive Director  had been appointed recently, following which 
the Executive Secretariat for the EIF had become ope rational.  He hoped that the remaining work to 
fully operationalize the EIF, in particular the Co mpendium of documents for the implementation of 
the EIF, would be completed soon.  The monitori ng and evaluation framework for the EIF was being 
finalized by the EIF Interim Board.  He hoped that  the EIF Executive Secretariat, the EIF Trust Fund 
Manager and the EIF institutions at the country level would work together to derive maximum 
benefits from the EIF process.  He sought coopera tion and understanding from all IF stakeholders to 
make the EIF a successful programme for the LDCs.   
79. He said that a number of DTISs were bei ng updated under the EIF framework.  These DTISs 
were wider in scope than previous ones.  He hoped that these updated DTISs – referred to as second 
generation DTISs – would enable LDCs to access Aid -for-Trade funding for actions identified in the 
DTIS Action Matrices.  In conclusion, he inv ited Members to extend their cooperation to the 
Executive Director of the Executive Secretariat fo r the EIF who would be making reports to the 
Sub-Committee on EIF matters.  He underlined th e importance of making EIF fully operational as 
soon as possible.   
80. The representative of the European Communities
 welcomed Ms. Tembo to the 
Sub-Committee.  She said that the operationalization of  the EIF was at its final stage.  She hoped for 
an executive launch of the EIF as soon as possible.  She said that the member States of the EU were in touch with the EIF Trust Fund Manager to contribute to the EIF Trust Fund.  She noted that some outstanding work, such as the monitoring and eval uation framework for the EIF, was at its final 
stages.  She expressed appreciation to the Chairman  of the EIF Interim Board, as well as to the 
members of the EIF Interim Board, for their hard  work towards making the EIF fully operational. 
81. The Chairman
 said that the EIF remained an important  instrument for the LDCs to address 
their trade capacity needs.  It  was the main mechanism through which LDCs could access additional 
Aid-for-Trade funding.  He was happy to note th at the UNOPS – the EIF Trust Fund Manager – had 
put in place its team in Geneva, and would soon be able to disburse funds to the beneficiaries.  On 
behalf of the Sub-Committee, he expressed full s upport and cooperation to the Executive Director of 
the Executive Secretariat for the EIF.  He proposed  that the Sub-Committee take note of the oral 
report made by the Chairman of the EIF Interim Board as well as of the statements made. 
82. It was so agreed . 
(III) Accession of Least-Developed Countries to the WTO 
83. The Chairman  said that the accession of LDCs to th e WTO had been a standing item on the 
agenda of the WTO Work Programme for the LDCs .  He had recently received a letter from the LDC 
Coordinator requesting a review of the implemen tation of the LDC Accession Guidelines, contained  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
 Page 17 
 
 
  in the General Council Decision (WT/L/508).  Copies of  the letter had been made available at the 
back of the room.  Following that request, he had undertaken preliminary consultations with some Members.  He had also discussed the issue with th e WTO Secretariat.  Further reflection was required 
as to the best way to proceed on the issue. 
84. He pointed out that the Sub-Committee had been conducting regular reviews of the 
implementation of the Guidelines in accordance w ith paragraph 2 of document WT/L/508.  The 
procedure followed so far had been to examine th e state of play in each of the ongoing LDC accession 
based on a background paper prepared by the Secretar iat, supplemented by briefings.  That procedure 
had proved useful in facilitating a focussed excha nge amongst Members of the Sub-Committee.  He 
suggested that the Sub-Committee conti nue to follow that procedure.   
85. In view of the letter written by the LDC Coor dinator, he felt that the Sub-Committee could 
further improve its work on the issue of LDC accessi on to the WTO.  On the basis of his discussions 
with some Members and the WTO Secretariat, he proposed that the Sub-Comm ittee have an in-depth 
discussion on LDC accession at its next meeting.  The discussion would be based on an elaborate note on LDC accession to be prepared by the Secretaria t prior to that meeting, which should include 
information on technical assistance and other suppor t being provided to the LDCs.  He encouraged 
Members and acceding governments to share their experiences with the accession negotiations at the 
next meeting of the Sub-Committee. 
86. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs, said that the letter he had written in 
June 2008 to the Chairman of the Sub-Committee wa s to request the assistance of his good offices for 
a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Accession Guidelines.  He regretted the fact that 
despite the Guidelines, which were adopted by the General Council in 2002, there had been a lack of 
progress in the accession of LDCs.  He underlined the need for an examination of the Guidelines to 
assess whether those Guidelines were being adhered to by Members in the accession negotiations with the acceding LDCs.  He agreed with the approach suggested by the Chairman to consider the item on 
accession at the next meeting of the Sub-Committee,  based on a Secretariat note on LDC accession.   
87. The representative of Yemen
 associated his delegation with the statement made by the 
representative of Lesotho, on behalf of the LDCs.  He noted that acceding LDCs had been in the 
process of accession for a long time.  In this regard , he pointed out that a number of acceding LDCs 
had already exceeded the average number of years needed by a non-LDC to accede to the WTO, and 
yet those acceding LDCs were unable to become Members of the WTO.  He expressed appreciation for the efforts undertaken by th e Chairman for an in-depth di scussion on LDC accession based on a 
comprehensive report from the Secretariat.  He said that the state-of-play document that the 
Secretariat had been preparing was useful.  Howe ver, in-depth reflection on the process of accession 
of LDCs was required.  He looked forward to the note to be prepared by the Secretariat. 
88. The representative of the United States
 attached high importance to the issue of accession.  
Her delegation had been involved in all of th e on-going LDC accessions.  The accession process 
provided an opportunity to the LDCs to align their trade regimes with WTO provisions and thereby to 
help establish more transparent and liberal trade prac tices based on the rule of law.  She added that the 
process of accession could also facilitate necessary reforms in the LDCs to accelerate economic 
growth and development.  She said that the value of LDC accessions to the WTO had been highlighted in a number of reports, including reports from the World Bank (e.g. World Trade Indicators 2008).   
89. She recognized the challenges faced by the LDCs in the accession process, including their 
resource limitations.  That was why her delega tion had supported the General Council Decision on 
LDC accession adopted in 2002.  Her delegation had b een fully implementing the Guidelines.  It had 
been accepting lower levels of market access commitments from acceding LDCs.  The acceding WT/COMTD/LDC/M/51 
Page 18  
 
  LDCs were also being given transition periods fo r compliance with WTO rules and obligations.  The 
flexibilities being provided to the LDCs had not been considered for the non-LDC acceding 
governments in the WTO.  She further said that  the Accession Guidelin es had been facilitating 
technical assistance and capacity building support to  the acceding LDCs.  A ssistance was also being 
provided to prepare them for the responsibilities of WTO Membership upon accession.  She reiterated 
that her delegation would continue to use the A ccession Guidelines to shape the terms of accession 
negotiated for an acceding LDC.   
90. She noted that 12 LDCs were at various st ages of their accession process.  One of these 
acceding LDCs had completed and approved the nego tiated accession package eight years ago.  Her 
delegation was not aware of any effort made by th at particular acceding Government to eventually 
accede to the WTO.  Five other acceding LDCs we re yet to submit their initial offers on market 
access.  In this regard, she noted that accession nego tiations could only begin after the submission of 
the memorandum of foreign trade regime by an acceding government.  She informed Members that 
her authorities had been working closely with six acceding LDCs out of which two were close to the 
completion of their accession negotiations.  In conclu sion, she extended her delegation's support to the 
preparation of a Secretariat note on LDC accession.  She looked forward to the information to be 
provided by the Secretariat in that note as well as to the discussion on the issue of LDC accession at 
the next meeting of the Sub-Committee. 
91. The representative of Japan
 associated his delegation with the statement made by the 
representative of the US.  He looked forward to  a comprehensive discussion on LDC accession at the 
next meeting of the Sub-Committee. 
92. The representative of the European Communities  reaffirmed her delegation's commitment to 
the Accession Guidelines for LDCs, which should be  followed in letter as well as in spirit.  She 
reiterated the commitment of the EC to extend all possible support to the acceding LDCs, in particular 
through the EIF process as well as through the br oader Aid for Trade framework.  She expressed 
support to the proposal made by the Chairman that  the Secretariat prepare a detailed note on LDCs 
accession.  In this regard, she underlined the importa nce of the application of the Guidelines in the 
accession negotiations.  However, her delegation did not see any need to revisit the Guidelines in substance. 
93. The Chairman
 thanked all delegations for their particip ation.  He noted that his suggestion on 
the way forward found agreement with Members.  Th erefore, he proposed that the accession of LDCs 
be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the Sub-Committee, and that the Secretariat would 
draw up a document on LDC accession to facilitate consid eration of that item at the next meeting.  He 
would, nevertheless, continue his consultations w ith Members on the best way to proceed with the 
LDC request concerning a review of the implementation of the Accession Guidelines. 
94. It was so agreed.  
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
95. The Chairman  informed Members that the next meeting of the Sub-Committee was scheduled 
for the first quarter of 2009.  The exact date woul d be communicated in due course.  He would remain 
in contact with the LDC Coordinator to further improve the work of the Sub-Committee and to 
facilitate the increased participation of LDCs  at the Sub-Committee, including acceding LDCs. 
96. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________