RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/M/55 
23 January 2006 
 
 (06-0285) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Fifty-Fifth Session  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETIN G OF 28 NOVEMBER 2005 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Gomi Tharaka Senadhira (Sri Lanka) 
 
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................2  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................................... ..2 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ...............................................................................2  
(ii) Request for observer status by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting 
Countries (OAPEC) .............................................................................................................. ......2  
(iii) Request for observer status by the Groupe de  la Banque Africaine de Développement.............2  
(iv) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab 
States, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la 
Francophonie, and the Common Fund for Commodities ...........................................................3
 
C. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD/W/143/R EV.1).....................................................................................................3  
D. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE ......................................................................20  
- AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH 
EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
(WT/COMTD/N/20/A DD.1 – WT/COMTD/51/A DD.1) ...........................................................20  
E. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES ....................21  
F. EXPORT HELPDESK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES :  PRESENTATION BY THE 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ........................................................................................................22  
G. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ..............................................................................22  
- STRATEGIC REVIEW OF WTO-P ROVIDED TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE :  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN ......................................................................................................22  
H. DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT 2005  (WT/COMTD/W/144) ............................................................23  
I. OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................23  
   WT/COMTD/M/55 
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 A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  welcomed the Director-General to the meeting.  He said the Director-General 
had indicated at the last meeting of the Trade Ne gotiations Committee (TNC) that he wished to be 
present for the Committee's discussion on the developm ental aspects of the negotiations relating to 
paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration.  In view of the schedule of the Director-General, the Chairman requested that agenda item "C" be discussed imme diately after the adoption of the agenda.  The 
Committee would revert to the other items on th e agenda after discussion on agenda item "C" was 
completed. 
2. It was so agreed
. 
3. The Chairman  recalled that the draft agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/2712 circulated on 1 November 2005 and two revisions issued on 22 November and on 
25 November 2005.  The late circul ation of a second revision to the ag enda was due to the insertion of 
a recent request received for observer status in the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD).   
4. The Committee adopted  the agenda.1 
B. OBSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
5. The Chairman   recalled that at previous sessions of the CTD, Members agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis.  These included 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), th e Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), the 
Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, th e Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the African 
Union (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic Confer ence (OIC), the South Centre, the Pacific Islands 
Forum, the United Nations Environment Progra mme (UNEP), the West African Economic and 
Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the World Intellect ual Property Organization (WIPO).  He said that 
following the decision taken at the previous meeti ng of the Committee, those organizations had been 
invited to the present meeting.  He proposed that t hose organizations be invited to the next formal 
meeting of the CTD. 
6. It was so agreed
. 
(ii) Request for observer status by the Organizatio n of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries 
(OAPEC) 
(iii) Request for observer status by the Groupe de  la Banque Africaine de Développement 
7. The Chairman  said he wished to address the two requ ests together.  The request from OAPEC 
came from the Secretary General of OAPEC and was addressed to the Director-General of the WTO.  The request from the Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement was sent by the President of 
the Bank to the Chairperson of the General Council.  
8. The Chairman said he had originally wished  the CTD to consider these two requests for 
observer status at the present meeting.  However, he had been informed by a group of Members that 
they were not in a position to support the requests.  He, therefore, proposed that the two requests be 
examined in future along with other pending requests.    
                                                     
 
1 After adopting the agenda, the Committee moved directly to agenda item "C", as had been agreed.  
The Committee reverted to the other items on the agenda af ter completing its discussion of agenda item "C".     WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 3 
 
 
 9. It was so agreed . 
10. The representative of Antigua and Barbuda  said the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States 
(OECS) had been trying for over a year to obtai n observer status in the CTD.  The OECS used 
combined resources to offer representation in the WTO for six Members from the Caribbean region.  The OECS' request for observer status in the CTD ha d been blocked because of systemic issues in the 
WTO.  The OECS' request was currently not on the CTD's agenda, but would be brought back on a 
future occasion.  He urged Members to resolve the i ssue of observer status so that organizations that 
were legitimate and played a role in providi ng representation for small countries could become 
observers of WTO bodies.  He explained that the i ssue needed to be resolved for very practical 
reasons. 
11. The Chairman
 said he understood the concerns of the representative of Antigua and Barbuda.  
He said he had held consultations  with the concerned parties, but the problems relating to observer 
status were not limited to the CTD.  He hoped the situation could be resolved soon. 
(iv) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for 
Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Interna tionale de la Francophonie, and the Common 
Fund for Commodities 
12. The Chairman  said that at previous meetings, the Committee had had before it a number of 
requests for observer status.  He said that if there was no change in positions to extend observer status 
to any of those applicants, then the Committee would take note, and would revert to those requests at 
the next meeting.   
13. It was so agreed . 
C. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED 
(WT/COMTD/W/143/R EV.1) 
14. The Chairman  recalled that at the last meeting of  the CTD on 5 October 2005, the Committee 
had undertaken a review of the developmental as pects of the negotiations based on a background 
paper prepared by the Secretariat (WT/COMTD/ W/143).  The Committee had felt it was timely to 
undertake such a review before the Hong Kong Mini sterial Conference took place.  Members had had 
a very interesting and constructive discussion on th e developmental aspects of the negotiations.  The 
Secretariat had been commended at the previous mee ting on the paper it had prepared, but at the same 
time Members had made several suggestions on how  the interests and concerns of developing 
countries in the Doha Round could be more fully reflected.  It was agreed that the Committee would continue its review of the developmental aspects of  the negotiations at the present meeting, and that 
the Secretariat would revise its paper for that purpose. 
15. The Chairman said the revised Secretariat paper on the developmental aspects of the 
negotiations had been circulated as document WT/C OMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  What had been made clear 
in the paper was the extent to which the D oha Development Agenda (DDA) was indeed a 
development round.  Development was at the hear t of the Doha Round.  However, it was for the 
Members to realize the potential of the Round.  The presence of the Director-General showed his 
personal commitment to realizing the potential development gains that th e Round had to offer.  As the 
paper indicated, there were also important institutio nal aspects to the gains from the Round.  With 
these introductory comments, the Chairman ga ve the floor to the Director-General.  WT/COMTD/M/55 
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 16. The Director-General
 said it was not often that a Director-General took part in the meetings of 
the various WTO Committees.  Since he took office he  had only been present at two such meetings.  
The first was a meeting of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration.  The present meeting of the CTD was the second.  There were two reasons for his participation at the present 
meeting.  The development dimensi on of the negotiations was firstly a priority of the Organization.  
Second, the Secretariat had worked hard to revise  its paper on the developmental aspects of the 
negotiations.  While the original version of the pa per had, on the whole, been well received at the 
previous CTD meeting, there were a number of ways  in which it could be improved.  He wished to 
thank the Deputy Director-General who had been in charge of revising the paper, as well as the 
Secretariat, for the efforts that had been expended in revising the paper.  A number of delegations 
were currently in Brussels for meetings relating to  the ACP and G90 groups of countries.  He had 
decided, however, not to defer the discussion on the developmental aspects of the negotiations.  This 
was because he wished to emphasize the importanc e of the development dimension in the run-up to 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  Ministers at Doha had recognized the crucial link that existed 
between trade liberalization and development.  Th e interests and concerns of developing countries 
were at the heart of the Doha Work Programme.  The goal in the present Round was to guarantee that 
the development dimension remained at the cent re of the negotiations in every subject under 
negotiation, and that developmental gains could be obtained in all areas. Development was the raison 
d’être  of the Round.  
17. The Director-General said agriculture was obviously of critical importance to all developing 
countries and LDCs, and was also in many ways th e key to the negotiations.  Developing countries 
stood to gain from increased market access in deve loped markets and expanded opportunities in other 
developing country markets.  They would also ga in from substantial reductions in trade-distorting 
domestic support in developed countries and from the el imination of all forms of export subsidies.  
The Uruguay Round had made contributions in this direction.  He did not believe that the Uruguay 
Round had been a bad deal for developing countri es.  Developing country agricultural exports 
increased by 24 per cent between 1995 and 2003, an d developing countries had increased their share 
of world exports from 40 to 42 per cent at a time when agriculture exports increased from 
US$299 billion to US$352 billion.  Trade growth had been particularly strong between developing 
countries, increasing by 32 per cent between 1995 and 200 3.  It was necessary to ensure that the Doha 
Round took developing countries well beyond that.  It was also important to not forget such issues of importance to developing countries as cotton, commod ities, tropical products and preference erosion.  
On all these issues there were proposals on the table addressing, if not responding to, the concerns of 
developing countries.  Also to keep in mind in th e agriculture negotiations, as in all areas of the 
negotiations, was the issue of special and differential treatment (S&D), including the flexibility to designate a number of products as special produc ts based on criteria of food security, livelihood 
security and rural development needs.  
18. In the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations, the Director-General said that 
market access was a key issue for developing co untries.  Market access interests lay not only in 
developed country markets, but also in other de veloping country markets and improved opportunities 
in South-South trade.  In addition to addressing high tariffs, tariff peaks and tariff escalation, it was important that non-tariff barriers that hinder and distort trade be addressed.  Members were aware of certain specific concerns of developing countries including the preservation of policy space, the need 
to provide adequate protection to  infant industries, the mainte nance of unbound duties in sensitive 
sectors and preventing the loss of tariff revenue.  LDCs considered duty-free and quota-free market 
access as key to their development goals and hoped to  secure more of this type of access to other 
developed markets as well as to more advanced  developing country markets.  The Uruguay Round 
made contributions to market access.  Developing country industrial exports had increased quickly in 
the last ten years.  For example, African merc handise exports increased by 6 per cent between 1995 
and 2000, and by 12 per cent from 2000 to 2004 .  LDCs' merchandise exports increased by  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 5 
 
 
 14 per cent from 2000 to 2004.  It was necessary to en sure that developing countries benefited further 
from the Doha Round.  
19. As for the development dimension in the servi ces negotiations, the Director-General said 
developing countries stood to gain considerably from the further opening of trade in services, both on the part of their trading partners and in terms of their own policy regimes.  The sectors addressed so 
far by individual developing countries extended acr oss all major services and all modes with a focus 
on movement of natural people – mode 4 – as we ll as cross-border supply of services under modes 1 
and 2.  While trade facilitation was a more recent area of the negotiations, the gains to be enjoyed 
from lowering trade-related transaction costs were we ll recognized.  This was an issue of particular 
importance to landlocked de veloping countries and LDCs, for which steps to facilitate transit traffic 
along with facilitating their own cross border trade could produce marked re ductions in their import 
costs and an improvement in their export competitiv eness in world markets.  In the area of S&D, it 
was necessary to ensure that the S&D provisions we re made more precise, effective and binding. 
S&D provisions should respond to, and be reflectiv e of, the concerns of developing countries, 
particularly LDCs.  
20. The Director-General said the points he had raised were only some of the developmental 
elements of the negotiations in the various areas.  All subjects of importance to developing countries 
would be taken into account in the preparation of the draft Ministerial Declaration for the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference.  They would also constitute  the main part of the discussion during and after 
the Conference and until the end of the Round.  He believed there were already a number of submissions and positions on the table that had an important development potential, for example with 
regard to agricultural subsidies relating to do mestic support and export competition.  Developing 
countries stood to gain substantially from the Round, and a failure to move forward in the negotiations 
would be a serious opportunity cost.  To once more ta ke the example of agricult ure, a failure to reach 
agreement would mean the loss of an opportunity to  reduce protection in the sector.  Without a Doha 
Round agreement, current levels of support to th e agricultural sector would remain unchanged, or 
could even increase.  He was aware that the opening  of trade did not translate into trade flows, job 
creation and poverty reduction at the same pace and in the same way for developing countries as it did 
for developed countries.  There was a need to focu s on the need for improved technical and financial 
assistance to allow developing countries to build the supply-side capacity to benefit fully from the opportunities the Doha Round would provide.  "Aid fo r Trade" would, therefore, need to accompany 
the results of the Round to assist developing countri es increase their capacity to participate in the 
multilateral trading system.  
21. The Director-General said the revised Secretar iat paper provided an overview of the potential 
development gains that could be realized.  What was already on the table could be translated into a good result for development from the Doha Round.  It  would certainly be disastrous if what had been 
already achieved disappeared becau se the negotiations failed to move  forward.  The overall goal was 
to ensure that the package stay ed on the table and translated into real benefits for developing 
countries. 
22. The representative of South Africa
 welcomed the Director-General to the meeting.  He 
commended the Chairman and the Secretariat for the preparation of document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  The document would prove  useful in securing the development content 
of the Doha Round.  Development was a complex and contested concept, and had become highly 
political in the current Round.  To advance towa rds convergence, there w as a need for greater 
engagement on the concept.  It was for this reas on that a number of developing countries (Argentina, 
Brazil, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, th e Philippines, South Africa and Venezuela) had WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 6  
 
 submitted a paper which had been circulated at the present meeting.  It was his privilege to introduce 
the paper, titled "Reclaiming Developmen t in the WTO Doha Development Round".
2 
23. The representative of South Africa made the following statement: 
"Recent proposals by some industrial countries in the WTO threaten the 
developmental content of the Doha Developmen t Agenda (DDA).  It is thus timely to 
reclaim the developmental content of the round. 
The Ministerial Declaration that launched the DDA proclaimed that the interests of 
developing countries would be placed at the centre of the negotiations.  This was not an act of charity but based on the recognition that promoting development in developing countries is an essential impetus to sustained global economic growth 
from which all can benefit.  A key to global growth lies in unlocking the potential of 
developing countries, and to achieve th is, developing countries must pursue 
development and industrialization in sectors where they possess comparative advantage.  The strategic objective for the negotiations is for industrial countries to reduce the protection they grant to ineffi cient sectors that frustrate the growth 
potential of developing countries.  An ear ly conclusion of the current round of 
negotiations, consistent with the mandate ag reed to in Doha in 2001 would deliver the 
best overall context for such an outcome. 
In reclaiming the developmental content of the negotiations, the principles of 
proportionality, less than full reciprocity and special and differential treatment in favour of developing countries should be  considered along three dimensions. 
First, the removal of anti-development distor tions in international agricultural trade is 
central to the DDA.  Through a combination of high tariffs, massive domestic support and export subsidies, industria l countries retain inefficient agricultural production in 
their economies at the cost of agricultural development in developing countries.  However, developing countries cannot be exp ected to pay for this needed reform in 
agriculture by acceding to overly ambitious demands in industrial tariffs and services 
that do not take into account the realities of their levels of economic development.   
Second, the DDA must provide enhanced acc ess to industrial country markets for the 
exports of goods and services of developi ng countries.  On industrial tariffs, 
development requires that tariff peaks and escal ation on products of export interest to 
developing countries are eliminated.  Deve loping countries would reduce their tariffs 
proportionately on the basis of less than full reciprocity so that their concessions are 
commensurate with their level of industrial development.   
Third, not all developing countries stand to gain from the DDA in the short-term.  
Least-developed countries (LDCs) and other weak and vulnerable economies often do not have the supply capacity to compete for the new export opportunities that will 
arise.  Others will face significant adju stment costs including from the erosion of 
preferences.  To address these particular concerns of developing countries, we call for the following actions to be taken: 
• Developed countries should make a firm commitment to work for the 
provision of duty free and quota fr ee market access for all LDCs, and 
                                                     
 
2 The paper was later issued as document WT/COMTD/W/145.  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 7 
 
 
 developing countries in a position to do so  are also encouraged to make such 
commitments. 
• The launch of an ambitious "Aid for Trade" package in Hong Kong to 
address the trade-related capacity building needs of developing countries.  WTO Members should also agree to create a grant aid fund to assist 
developing countries to manage the impact of preference erosion that would 
arise from the Doha Round. 
• Developed countries should seize the opportunity to increase the gains from 
the Doha Round for all Members by making serious efforts to liberalize the temporary movement of natural pe rsons (mode 4), from developing to 
developed Member countries. 
• WTO Members in Hong Kong should agree to review a number of WTO 
rules which are now imbalanced in favour of developed countries, for 
example, the TRIPS agreement, which has only strengthened the rights of 
private ownership and should provid e equivalent protection for the 
intellectual property rights of communities. 
Developed countries have made demands on developing countries in their recent 
proposals to make commitments in the NAMA negotiations that are totally 
disproportionate.  The enormous burdens of adjustment that developing countries 
would have to bear in their industrial sectors bear no resemblance to the relatively insignificant adjustments that developed countries will need to make in this sector.  Developing countries are being called upon to reduce their tariffs from their applied 
rates with limited space to manage the ad justments in their sensitive labour intensive 
sectors.  In addition, developed countries ar e not offering to make any significant cuts 
in their industrial sectors with their offer to reduce their tariffs by a coefficient of 10, 
using the Swiss formula. 
In sharp contrast the European Communiti es (EC) has made insignificant offers to 
open its markets in the agriculture negotiati ons, with its call for additional flexibility 
for the bulk of its sensitive products, allo wing it to close off the possibility of any 
significant new market opening for agricultural products from developing countries.  
The EC and other developed countries are t hus seeking a round for free.  Developing 
countries are being called upon to bear the bur den of any new market opening in this 
round.  This threatens to create an imbala nced and anti-developmental outcome in the 
Doha Round. 
We for our part are committed to work fo r a genuine development outcome of the 
round that is fair and balanced and that will create new opportunities for all Members, 
developed and developing, to grow their economies and foster their development. 
Chairman, I wish to thank you for your  efforts in the CTD to advance the 
development interests of developing countries." 
24. The representative of Argentina
 said his delegation was a co-sponsor of the paper introduced 
by the representative of South Africa and fully suppor ted the latter's statement.  It would be important 
to consolidate results at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  However, any package agreed to in 
Hong Kong should not be to the detriment of S& D provisions or to a wider result in favour of 
developing countries which would be finalized at th e end of the Round.  While agriculture was a key 
area of the negotiations, it was not the only area  with developmental im plications.  The paper WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 8  
 
 introduced by the representative of South Africa ha d a vision of development permeating through all 
the areas of the negotiations.  Furthermore, the Doha Round should not only have the goal of 
improving the position of developing countries in inte rnational trade, but more generally to improve 
their growth potential and their ability to combat social inequality.  The objectives of the Doha Round should, therefore, not be framed only in terms of trade outcomes. 
25. The representative of Argentina said that one of the results of the Uruguay Round had been to 
limit the national policy space of developing countr ies.  Tariffs were one of the few elements 
remaining for developing countries to carry out in dustrial policies.  Tariff reduction implemented 
through a formula would erode regional preferences.  From the point of view of Argentina this meant 
an erosion of intra-regional trade by 40 to 60 per cent.  In view of the inevitable reduction in tariffs 
that would take place in the Doha Round, there w as need for more space to implement policies.  It 
was satisfactory that there were discussions under way on how to deal with the situation with regard 
to LDCs.  The subject of TRIMs had been included in the discussions, and th ere was a possibility to 
come to an agreement on this in the context of the preparatory work leading up to the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference.  Once a decision had been taken with regard to LDCs, the TRIMs issue could 
be discussed in the context of developing countri es more generally, as this was one important area 
where developing countries could bene fit from greater policy space.    
26. The representative of India 
made the following statement: 
"India has long sought a development audit of  the Doha Round.  I see this morning's 
discussion in the CTD as kicking off a pro cess which will guide us in the remainder 
of the negotiation.  Although belatedly, we  are embarking on an extremely important 
exercise. 
I see that several of our colleagues from the ACP are not able to be present today 
because of their meeting in Brussels.  I would, however, have expected more 
colleague Ambassadors from developed country  Members to be here for this very 
important discussion. 
I welcome the Secretariat paper, and acknowledge the quality of the professional 
effort in many areas.  This is, however, not uniformly the case.  For example, there 
are factual inaccuracies in paragraphs 68, 70, 74 and 90-91.  India is also disappointed at the complete omission of the CBD-TRIPS issue in the section on the 
TRIPS Agreement.  The various caveats and disclaimers are thus in order. 
Mr. Chairman, India is a co-sponsor of th e paper on 'Reclaiming Development', just 
introduced by my distinguished friend.  My remarks will briefly supplement this joint 
presentation. 
India was sceptical when the Doha nego tiations were packaged as a development 
round.  The negotiations over the past four  years have done little to reassure us.  
There is a serious and growing development defi cit in the round.  This will have to be 
corrected.  Not only to meet a demand of developing countries, but to ensure timely 
completion of the negotiations. 
It is true that the greatest benefits for developing countries are to flow from the 
market access negotiations in agriculture, NAM A and services.  But equally, it is in 
these negotiations that the greatest development hazards lie.  On their present trajectory, a pro-development outcome is not only not inevitable, its achievement will 
be a surprise.  Let me elaborate.  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 9 
 
 
 In agriculture, early agreement with suffici ent specificity on the issues of special 
products and special safeguard mechanism for developing countries is an urgent 
necessity.  Unless developing countries are ab le to effectively secure the food and 
livelihood security of hundreds of millions of  their subsistence and marginal farmers, 
the development benefit of the negotiations in  agriculture will elude us.  Any slippage 
on this issue will largely nullify the developmen t gains of a less distorted structure of 
international trade in agriculture, which we hope to achieve in this round.  This calls 
for a recalibration of the pace in this multi-tiered negotiation. 
Another issue calling for urgent progress is  the subsidies on cotton, which have had 
devastating consequences for millions of poor farmers in Africa.  
In the NAMA negotiations, there is an even more determined assault on the S&D 
elements in the mandate.  The paragraph 8 flexibilities are being eroded.  We need a 
greater sensitivity to the mandate among our de veloped partners.  In their totality, the 
S&D and flexibility elements in NAMA fall well short of the protection that underpinned early industrialization in the developed countries.  If they are 
undermined any further, we will be scri pting an anti-development outcome with 
potentially devastating consequences for deve loping countries.  On the other hand, 
efforts are afoot to protect tariff peaks and tariff escalation in developed country markets.  Preference erosion calls for direct  resource transfers to facilitate adjustment, 
not for further cosseting protectionist interests in developed markets. 
The prospects for meaningful development gains from the services negotiations have 
also receded.  Liberalization of temporary m obility of natural persons is a crying need 
of the global economy.  Yet, the most competitive services economy in the world has offered no improvement in mode 4 from  its Uruguay Round commitments.  As a 
result, the overall development promise of the services negotiations has been 
compromised.  India will continue to work for significant improvements in the quality 
of offers in mode 4. 
There is no progress in the Doha mandate on S&D, calling for provisions to be made 
more effective, precise and operational.  There is virtually no S&D proposal, 
including the five proposals tabled by the weakest among our membership, the LDCs, on which we agree.  There could not be  a greater indictment of the Doha 
Development Agenda. 
There is a growing concern across the developing world over piracy of bio resources, 
and the misappropriation of their traditiona l knowledge.  Developing countries sense 
an imbalance in the protection of private IPRs, and those belonging to communities, in the TRIPs Agreement.  Despite the Doha mandate, and years of technical work, we are yet to launch negotiations on clarifyi ng the CBD-TRIPs relationship.  A key 
development objective has been frustrate d by questions over the mandate and a 
variety of procedural manoeuvres.  India hopes that the handful of countries resisting the launch of negotiations will see the damage  they do to the development promise of 
Doha. 
A word about South-South trade, which is a favourite theme of our  developed country 
partners.  South-South trade is growing f aster than world trade, and will perhaps 
continue to do so.  India is alive to the im perative of co-prosperity of the South and is 
actively engaged in expanding opportunities in its market for other developing countries, including LDCs.  We are pursui ng such initiatives in different formats, 
including the GSTP. WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 10  
 
 Mr. Chairman, I have spoken with candour.  We need to recognize the urgent need 
for correcting the growing development defic it in this negotiation.  I have little doubt 
that the growing anxieties and apprehen sions of developing countries account for 
much of our present difficulties.  The round cannot regain momentum, until key players revisit their negotiating positions from a development perspective.  This 
morning's discussion will, I hope, contribute to this objective. 
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I would request you to ensure that the status of the 
development dimension of the negotiations  remains under constant review in the 
CTD.  The Secretariat should be requested to bring out a further update, say at the 
end of February.  India shall also pursue a horizontal discussion on development in 
the TNC, or the General Council, after the Hong Kong Ministerial." 
27. The representative of th e European Communities
 said like others he regretted that most of the 
ACP delegations could not attend the present meeting.   Their input in the debate would have been 
most valuable.  He thanked the Director-General fo r his introductory remarks and the Secretariat – in 
particular the Deputy Director-General who had been  responsible for revising the Secretariat paper – 
for having provided an important compendium.  He also thanked the representative of South Africa 
for introducing the paper submitted by a group of developing countr y Members.  Though he had had 
little time to study the latter paper, he thought the substantive issues could be better dealt with within 
the core negotiations.  He wished to say that many of the proposals contained in the paper had the full 
support of his delegation.  These included matte rs relating to duty-free and quota-free access, 
preference erosion, Aid for Trade and cotton, to mention a few.  He understood the emphasis given in 
the paper to the European Communities (EC), both direc tly and indirectly.  The EC was, after all, the 
most important market for developing countries in ge neral and LDCs in particular.  The EC was also 
the single biggest provider of trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) and Aid for Trade.  
28. Turning to the Secretariat paper, the representa tive of the European Co mmunities said that in 
its revised version it remained a valuable tool for all Members as they sought to live up to the 
mandate.  Members would no doubt have their own ar eas of emphasis or may interpret situations in a 
different way as compared to the Secretariat's presenta tion.  If the Secretariat were to give full justice 
to all the issues contributing to the development di mension, the paper would have been significantly 
longer.  This was not the time or the place to get into that level of detail. 
29. The representative of the European Communities said the paper illustrated the great diversity 
of developing country interests in the areas under ne gotiation.  This was a salutary reminder to those 
who presented the development dimension of the R ound as simply the sum of all the requests and 
negotiating positions presented by deve loping countries.  It was also  a message to those outside the 
house who tended to see and present the negotiations in ra ther simplistic, North-South terms.  In many 
cases, interests of developing countries did not coin cide, and their requests were, accordingly, at odds 
with one another.  This should be no surprise to any delegation.  The challenge that negotiators had to 
face was to reconcile these competing interests in  a way that supported a pro-development emphasis 
and preserved the essential substantive interests of al l.  In the main negotiating areas where the bulk 
of the development dimension was to be found, much of this work still lay ahead.  It was unfortunate 
that not as much progress as had been hoped w ould be made by the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference.  
30. The representative of the European Communities said the negotiations s hould intensify in the 
weeks after the Ministerial Conference.  A successf ul outcome to the negotiations was a prize worth 
fighting for.  The prize was a combination of  judicious and well-designed liberalization and 
modernization of the WTO rule book.  The mark et access negotiations in agriculture, NAMA and 
services should lead to additional opportunities to  trade – including for developing countries and 
LDCs in South-South trade – that would deliver a large part of the contribution that the DDA could  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 11 
 
 
 make to development.  However, market access was not the whole story.  The results of negotiations 
on WTO rules – including anti-dumping, trade facilita tion and geographical indications (GIs) – would 
play a vital role in underpinning the market acc ess negotiations and in the overall balance of the 
Round, including from a development perspectiv e.  This was because well-functioning and 
well-designed rules helped ensure that developing  countries and LDCs were better able to take 
advantage of reductions in tariffs  and other forms of border protec tion in both existing and potential 
new export markets.   
31. He said he wished to provide some examples of  tensions and differenc es of interest among 
developing countries, as they were presented in the Secretariat paper.  In the area of market access, 
there was the issue of preference erosion versus tr opical products.  There was also the question of the 
high level of duties collected on Sout h-South trade.  In the area of services, there was the issue of the 
value to developing countries of liberalization of services, including infrastructure services, impacting 
on the competitiveness of productive sectors.  Deve loping countries were active users of anti-
dumping, including on imports from other developing c ountries.  Major tensions had also arisen on a 
South-South basis on the S&D Work Programme.   
32. The representative of the Europ ean Communities said there was ev idently a pressing need for 
developing countries and LDCs to have suffici ent and effective TRTA and support for capacity 
building.  The development community had respon ded significantly since Doha, and continued to do 
so.  The EC was leading the way.  Effectiveness of  support depended also very largely on individual 
developing countries working out their real needs and priorities. 
33. He added that the principal developmental bene fits of the DDA would come from the main 
negotiating areas, though it was too soon to predict the eventual results.  The EC was, however, 
determined that the Hong Kong Ministerial Confer ence deliver a substantial development package, 
even while failing to achieve the initial objective of  "full modalities".  Unlike some others, the EC did 
not believe that Members should keep all the "dev elopment deliverables" until the end of the Round.  
Rather, agreement should be reached on whatever w as possible.  Where it was not possible to reach 
agreement because of intimate connections with the negotiations, it was, nonetheless, necessary to 
give a clear direction on the desired outcomes.  The main components of the development package should include duty- and quota-free market acc ess for LDCs, with a clear commitment from 
developed countries to deliver on the objective subscrib ed to in Doha.  Other Members in a position to 
grant similar treatment to imports from LDCs shoul d do so over a longer period of time and with 
some flexibility with regard to product coverage.  There should also be agreement on the set of LDC 
Agreement-specific S&D proposals, which included giving LDCs new flexibility for measures that 
would otherwise be incompatible with their WTO obl igations under TRIMs.  Other components of the 
package would include decisions to endorse and push  forward with work on an enhanced Integrated 
Framework and on Aid for Trade more generally;  positive resolution of the LDCs' request for an 
extension of the transition period for implemen tation of TRIPs obligations and settlement of 
outstanding issues on TRIPS and health;  and a clear direction for the future course of the DDA 
negotiations with regard to the issue of cotton, th e interests of small economies, and ways to resolve 
the different concerns of developing countries on preference erosion. 
34. The representative of Djibouti
, speaking as the representative of the LDCs and the African 
countries, said the presence of the Director-General was a comfort to developing countries.  If there was to be a favourable developmental outcome to  the negotiations, it was necessary for developing 
countries to participate actively in international trad e so as to reduce poverty.  At the same time, these 
countries faced several challenges in attempting to do so.  He agreed with  the representative of 
South Africa in highlighting that development permea ted all areas of the negotiations.  He said that 
Ministers at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference did not have the time to consider in depth all the 
WTO negotiating issues.  It was, therefore, up to the negotiators to put appropriate proposals to the WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 12  
 
 Ministers.  Ministers would take into account the advice given to them by the negotiators.  
Negotiators were, therefore, responsible for coming up with solutions in the various negotiating areas.   
35. The representative of Paraguay
 said he wished to underline the importance of the presence of 
the Director-General at the meeting.  One of the primary responsibilities of the Secretariat was to provide support to those delegations that most  needed support, namely those from developing 
countries.  He thanked the Secretariat for the preparation of document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1, 
which allowed Members to consider the developm ental aspects of the negotiations.  In the Uruguay 
Round, a similar exercise was only carried out at the end of the negotiations.  It was, therefore, encouraging that in the Doha Round the exerci se was being undertaken at the present time.  The 
Uruguay Round provided benefits to those developi ng countries that were prepared for integration 
into the global economy.  However, the experience had been negative on balance for the majority of 
developing countries, and in particular those with vulnerable economies, that had faced huge 
difficulties in introducing economic reforms.  Th e production of a number of  developing countries 
was essentially focused on raw materials, which faced tariff peaks and tariff escalation in partner 
country markets.  It was on these types of issues that discussion should take place and on which 
agreement should be reached.  It was also importa nt to keep in mind that the monitoring of the 
developmental dimension of trade was a complex exer cise.  It went beyond the WTO negotiations and 
also included support from other international orga nizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, the 
regional development banks and the ITC.  The WTO should, however, take the lead as it was the only 
organization among these that was Member-driven and worked on the basis of consensus.  
36. The representative of Paraguay said the Info rmal Group of Developing Countries (IGDC) was 
discussing an initiative for Ministers to decide upon in Hong Kong, China. As the Chairman of the 
IGDC, he had held consultations w ith various delegations.  He believ ed the IGDC at Ministerial level 
could prove to be a useful forum in which ideas and initiatives might emerge.  He congratulated the 
delegations that had submitted the paper introduced at the present meeting by the representative of 
South Africa.  The paper had the support of Paraguay.  His delegation hoped the paper would prove to 
be useful in the search for concrete solutions to concrete problems. 
37. The representative of Egypt
 said his delegation strongly supported the paper introduced by the 
representative of South Africa.  He thanked and commended the delegations that had submitted the 
paper, which his delegation believed reflected several  crucial concerns of developing countries.  The 
submission came at a timely juncture, thus further adding to its importance.   
38. The representative of Brazil  said his delegation was a co-sponsor of the paper introduced by 
the representative of South Africa.  He supported th e statements of Argentina and India, two other 
co-sponsors of the paper.  He wished to make five brief points on the paper.  First, the paper reflected 
a commitment to the Doha mandate by placing deve lopment at the centre of the negotiations and 
calling for the negotiations to be c oncluded in this manner.  Second, the developmental aspects of the 
Round comprised both the offensive and the defensiv e interests of developing countries.  While 
offensive interests in agriculture were important , they were not the only area where the offensive 
interests of developing countries should be reflected.  The defensive interests of developing countries, 
including the need for policy space and flexibilities, needed to also  be taken into account in the 
various areas under negotiation.  A thir d point related to paragraph 44 of  the Doha Declaration. In his 
view, developmental considerati ons had been present in multilateral trade negotiations since 1964, 
when Part IV of the GATT was established.  However,  in the past the results of the negotiations had 
resulted in general developmental provisions with no great precision.  The challenge in the Doha 
Round was to make such provisions precise and effective.  Fourth, the topic of development was not only related to the special situations of developi ng countries.  Development was a far wider subject, 
and was not limited to flexibilities within the WTO talks.  Cooperation between developing countries 
was important in boosting South-South trade.  The regional aspect was of particular importance in 
promoting trade between developing countries.  Fi nally, the challenge of development was closely  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 13 
 
 
 related to the issue of coherence.  A coherent vision of development should be built up within the 
WTO.  Trade liberalization should not be implemented in contradic tion to developmental objectives.  
A coherent vision would permit the results of th e negotiations to better reflect developmental 
considerations. 
39. The representative of Brazil congratulated the Secretariat and the Chairman for the 
preparation of document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  There were certainly imperfections in the 
document, but it would no doubt be improved as the di scussion and debate moved forward.  It was an 
important contribution to the process of evaluati ng the developmental aspects of the Doha Round. 
40. The representative of China  thanked the Director-General for his introductory remarks.  He 
also thanked the representative of South Africa for having introduced the paper submitted by a group 
of developing countries.  His delegation shared  most of the concerns expressed in the paper 
introduced by South Africa.  His delegation was very concerned with the slow progress in the 
negotiations.  There was particular concern with re gard to those areas of the negotiations where the 
legitimate rights of all developing country and LDC Me mbers were at stake.  There were also serious 
concerns at attempts to undermine the unity of developing countries by re-categorizing them beyond 
the Doha mandate.  The Doha Declaration contained several references to development issues.  In the 
last few years, Members had on various occasions emphasized the importance of the developmental aspects of the negotiations in their statements.  Ho wever, translating the statements into specific 
commitments and actions remained a serious problem. 
41. The representative of China said he wished to make a number of comments on the paper 
introduced by South Africa.  Agriculture was at the centre of the negotiations.  His delegation shared 
the view expressed in the paper that distortions in  the agricultural sector that prevented the export 
growth of developing countries needed to be re moved.  Commitment to the level of ambition 
envisaged in the Doha mandate needed to be demons trated by the cutting of domestic support and the 
elimination of export subsidies by  developed country Members.  Fo r products of export interest to 
developing country Members, the issue of high tariff s, tariff peaks and tariff escalation in developed 
country markets needed to be fully addressed.  S& D for developing countries needed to be offered 
through different rates of tariff-cu tting and different thresholds, as well as through the treatment of 
special products and the use of a special safegua rd mechanism.  On the subject of NAMA, his 
delegation shared the view expressed in the paper that the Doha Round should increase liberalization 
and foster positive adjustment in all Member count ries.  Genuine market access opportunities needed 
to be provided for all, and particularly for deve loping country Members.  His delegation was deeply 
concerned by the high tariffs, tariff peaks, tariff esc alation and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to be found 
in developed country markets, in particular on produc ts of export interest to developing countries.  It 
was also necessary to provide sufficient flexibilities to  developing country Members to allow them to 
make commitments commensurate with their devel opment levels and needs.  His delegation fully 
supported the position that paragraph 8 of the NAMA framework in the 1 August 2004 Decision was 
a stand-alone provision.  
42. In the services negotiations, the representative of China said his delegation believed there 
were two major developmental aspects.  The first concerned the flexibilities accorded to developing 
country Members in scheduling their commitments.   Some Members were insisting on numerical 
market access targets for all Members.  Such targ ets appeared to be inco mpatible with the WTO 
provisions.  Most developing country Members were recipients of services, and their services sectors 
were still at an early stage of development.  Permitting developing country Members to open their 
services sectors in line with their development leve ls and needs was of utmost importance.  Second, 
special consideration should be given to the sectors and modes of export interest to developing countries.  Both developed and developing countr y Members would benefit from serious efforts to 
liberalize mode 4.  Regrettably, very few offers to  date had taken this into  account to an appropriate 
extent.  With the regard to the S&D Work Pr ogramme, his delegation st rongly urged developed WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 14  
 
 country Members to be more forthright in meeti ng the requests of the LDCs and to make further 
efforts to allow the LDC Agreement-specific proposal s to be more commercially meaningful.  This 
would allow LDCs to advance their development process, both in trade and in industrial capacity 
building.  He underlined the particular importa nce of providing duty-free and quota-free market 
access for LDCs.  His delegation expressed its support on the issue of the relationship between TRIPs 
and CBD, and underlined the necessity of striking a ba lance between the protection of the interests of 
the developed and the developing country Members.  China would work closely with all Members to 
achieve a solid development package in the Round.  
43. The Chairman
 said discussion of paragraph 51 would remain a standing item on the CTD's 
agenda.  He said the Director-General would now be  leaving the meeting room.  He wished to give 
the floor to the Director-General for his closing remarks. 
44. The Director-General  said he would limit himself to remarks on three points.  First, he said 
the Secretariat would take into account India's comm ents on the revised paper.  More generally, he 
said the paper would be regularly updated.  Second, he wished to highlight one area in which agreement had already been reached.  In particular , it was agreed in the 1 August 2004 Decision of the 
General Council that industrial tari ffs would be reduced through a formula that compressed tariff 
peaks and hence addressed tariff es calation.  This was of great im portance to developing countries, 
and should be built on.  Third, he observed that several delegations wished to have a regular 
horizontal review of the developmen t dimension of the Round.  He agreed with the usefulness of the 
exercise.  It was in the hands of the Chairman of the CTD to organize the work in this respect.  As 
mentioned by the representative of Paraguay, it was important that the exercise was being undertaken 
while the negotiations were still ongoing.  Member s could rely on the Director-General and the 
Deputy Director-General responsible for developmen t issues to remain personally involved in a 
regular horizontal review.     
45. The representative of Namibia
 said the presence of the Director-General at the meeting was 
an indication of the importance attached to deve lopment issues in the Round.  He thanked the 
representative of South Africa for having introduced th e paper co-sponsored by a number of countries 
including Namibia.  The Doha Declaration was a bout development, and deve lopment should therefore 
take its place at the heart of the Doha Work Pr ogramme.  This was an objective of the multilateral 
trading system, reflected in the preambles of bot h the GATT and the Marrakesh Agreement.  The 
Doha Declaration made mention of specific elem ents to achieve the developmental objectives in 
favour of developing countries.  These included, amo ng others, the need for balanced rules and policy 
space, enhanced market access in areas of export interest to developing countries, and 
capacity-building programmes.  Development was defi ned by the needs and interests of developing 
countries.  That was why a number of developi ng countries had submitted a paper at the present 
meeting.  The development needs of developi ng countries could not be outsourced or defined 
elsewhere.  On the issue of policy space, history s howed that many develope d countries had benefited 
from policy space in enhancing their development and industrial capacity.  Policy space was critical to 
developing countries today, and should be recognized  in the negotiations.  On the subject of market 
access, Ministers at Doha had called for enhanced ma rket access for developing country exports.  The 
enhanced market access referred to should be in addition to the current ma rket access offered to 
developing countries.  On the subject of Aid for Trade, his delegation believed that any 
capacity-building programme must be demand-driven and needs-based.  It must be predictable and 
sustainable, and must have no conditionalities.  Capacity building should be independent of market 
access and flexibilities.  Aid for Trade could not be a substitute for market opening.  
46. The representative of Hong Kong, China  said it was vitally important for development to be 
appropriately reflected in the Doha Round.  He welcomed document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1 and 
the introductory remarks of the Di rector-General.  He also welcom ed the paper introduced by the 
representative of South Africa.  He said that Hong Kong, China's Secretary for Commerce, Industry  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 15 
 
 
 and Technology had repeatedly called for an early harvest on development at the Sixth Ministerial 
Conference.  The Secretary had spoken on the subject at various international meetings of LDCs and 
developing countries at Mombasa (Kenya), Livingst one (Zambia) and Arusha (Tanzania), and would 
be repeating the message in Brussels in the course of the present week.  The Secretary believed that a 
development package to be agreed upon in Hong K ong, China should not be seen as a substitute for 
the substantive gains to be achieved from subsidy elimination and market opening in agriculture and 
NAMA, and should not be a hostage to either.  Th e Secretary also believed the development package 
should comprise a number of elements.  First, there must be an unambiguous commitment to duty-free and quota-free market access for products from LDCs .  While some Members had technical problems 
in implementing such a commitment, he called for imaginative solutions to be found.  Second, the 
package should allow for the harvesting of as ma ny of the Agreement-speci fic S&D proposals as 
possible.  Third, there was a need for longer tr ansition periods for LDCs under the TRIPs and TRIMs 
Agreements.  Fourth, it was necess ary to commit to an Aid for Tr ade programme which, among other 
things, would be sufficient to enable early implementation of the trade facilitation measures on which a broad measure of agreement had already been reached.  Finally, there was a need for securing a 
permanent solution to the TRIPs a nd public health issue.  There were certainly a host of other 
candidates for inclusion in the early harvest, some riper than others.  Members may not be able to 
harvest them all in Hong Kong, China, but effort s would certainly be made.  His delegation looked 
forward to working with other Members on them.    
47. The representative of Colombia
 said that when she entered the meeting room she was struck 
by the level of attendance, including the Director-General and several Ambassadors.  She assumed 
that document WT/COMTD/W/143, which had been th e subject of such passionate debate at the 
Committee's last meeting, had inspired the presence of such leading figures.  The document was at the 
heart of the negotiations.  She congratulated the Ch airman and the Secretariat for the preparation of 
the document.  She was proud to have taken part in previous discussions and to have contributed to 
the revision of the document.  She also welcomed  the paper introduced by the representative of 
South Africa.  Her delegation considered it to be a contribution which reflected some positions 
contained in the Secretariat document. 
48. The representative of Colombia said that from he r country's perspective, development was at 
the heart of the negotiations.  Colombia was a de veloping country committed to a multilateralism with 
trade liberalization and poverty reduction as its goals.   Colombia had, therefore, tried to give 
development a specific dimension in the Doha Ro und.  The greatest development dividend to be 
gained from participation in the Round would be an outcome to the agriculture negotiations which 
would enable trade liberalization to go hand-in-han d with poverty reduction.  Such an outcome would 
be achieved when support for the agricultural sector was reduced and the elements of the agriculture 
negotiations were appropriately addressed.  She understood that there were both offensive and 
defensive interests at play in the negotiations.  Wh at she found hard to understand, however, was that 
there were countries which had offensive interests in  gaining market access, and at the same time had 
defensive interests in keeping their own markets closed.  These interests were very difficult to 
reconcile.  They were extreme o ffensive and defensive positions and were of great concern to her 
delegation and other delegations. 
49. Her delegation wished to continue working on th e basis of the Secretariat document.  While 
she had no specific comments on the document at this  time, she remarked that it reached quite timid 
conclusions, presumably out of caution and defe rence.  The document ended with two small 
paragraphs of concluding remarks.   She understood it was very difficult for the Secretariat to engage 
in conjecture.  She had no wish to exaggerate or  play down problems, or to be associated with any 
particular problem or issue.  However, she felt the time had come to make specific proposals.  Special 
situations formed part of the discussion, but the development dimension of the negotiations did not 
end with special situations.  She said some issues,  such as that of ensuring market access for tropical 
products and for products which di versify production away from the growing of illicit crops, did not WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 16  
 
 seem compatible with the issue of preference erosion.   This was why her delegation wished to suggest 
that a product-specific approach be adopted.  Studies by other organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF had found that some problems were am enable to non-trade solutions.  It was, however, 
first necessary to establish the  trade dimension of  the problem.  She hoped to see a revised version of 
the Secretariat document incorporating the issues that  had been mentioned by other delegations at the 
beginning of 2006.  Her delegation also wished to  submit a number of comments that it had not yet 
been able to make.  Her delegation remained co mmitted to the issue and was convinced that the 
Secretariat document would become a ro admap for concluding the Doha Round. 
50. The representative of Pakistan
 thanked the Secretariat for the re vised paper.  The paper in its 
revised form, along with some further editing, made  it a valuable living document that captured the 
areas of concern to developing countries.  Her delegation supported the proposal to review the 
document periodically until the end of the Round.  Now that a single document was available to 
reflect the concerns of developing countries, her delegation hoped to see tangible progress in 
addressing these concerns.  Her delegation was a co-sponsor of the paper introduced by the 
representative of South Africa, and invited Members' a ttention to the concerns and interests raised in 
that paper.       
51. The representative of Australia  made the following statement: 
"Thank you Chair and thank you to the Secretariat for putting out a revised version of 
this paper which provides a good overview of  the various development aspects of the 
negotiations.  We have two comments on th e paper which go to the accuracy of the 
document.  These centre on paragraphs 69 and 86. 
Paragraph 69 discusses the consultations on GI-extension and then provides, 'It was 
felt that progress on this issue would have  spill over effects and allow progress to be 
made on the other issues.'  We are unclear how this found its way into the paper.  
From memory, this issue wasn’t raised at the last meeting of the CTD when we discussed the paper and no opportunity was given to provide alternative views.  
Singling out GI-extension and providing th at progress on this issue would allow 
progress to be made on other issues – other implementation issues or other development issues more broadly – is a profoundly inaccurate characterization of current negotiating realities. 
We have never seen GI-extension as a development issue.  The main demandeurs  on 
this issue are not developing countries and this can be contrasted with the 
TRIPs-CBD issue.  If there is one issue that could help unblock progress in the 
negotiations over all, in support of the deve lopment dimension, it is improvements in 
agricultural market access, not GI-extensi on.  We are firmly of the view that 
including the line in question in the paper is  misleading.  If there is one Member who 
has this view then the paper should make this clear. 
Our second comment relates to paragraph 86 on the wines and spirits GIs register 
which we were not aware was a developmen t issue.  This paragraph provides that 
'some developing country Members have lent broad support to the approach proposed by the European Communities…' 
Now Mr. Chair, I have been at these negotiations in the TRIPs Special Session and 
during my time here in Geneva not one de veloping country has spoken in favour of 
the EC register proposal.  By contrast, numerous developing countries have spoken 
with concern about the EC proposal, and not just those developing countries which  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 17 
 
 
 have co-sponsored the Joint Proposal.  So we are not sure what the factual basis of the 
comment in paragraph 86 of the Paper is. 
We would be happy to put these concer ns in writing and convey them to the 
Secretariat." 
52. The representative of the United States  thanked the Secretariat for its revised document.  She 
also thanked those delegations that had submitt ed the paper introduced by the representative of 
South Africa.  Her delegation strongly supporte d the idea of a horizont al assessment of the 
developmental aspects across all areas of the negotia tions.  With regard to the revised Secretariat 
paper, her delegation had found many places wher e the revision was an improvement over the 
original.  However, there were also a number of places where the revision masked the complex nature 
of the negotiations and the varied interests of Memb ers.  The original versio n described more fairly 
the diversity of views among developing countries in  each area of the negotiations in a succinct and 
balanced way.  In the revised paper, the differe nces in positions between developing countries were 
sometimes not reflected or were muted.  For ex ample, while the NAMA section mentioned increased 
market access in developed countries as a key goa l of developing countries, it did not explicitly 
mention that in the context of the negotiations de veloping countries should al so be seeking to reduce 
trade barriers among themselves.  Reducing barrier s between developing countries would result in 
significant gains to these countries.  Her delega tion saw the Secretariat document as a work in 
progress which would be improved through the negotia tions.  Her delegation strongly believed that 
the main benefits to developing countries from the negotiations would come from their participation 
in the greater global economic activities generated fr om a successful outcome to the Round.  Active 
contributions to liberalization were, therefore, of key importance.  Little benefits would accrue to 
those countries that remained in economic isol ation behind high tariffs and other barriers. 
53. On the paper introduced by th e representative of South Africa, the representative of the 
United States remarked that several developing count ries seemed to believe the interests of developed 
countries in the negotiations were self-serving, and that the latter were attempting to sow divisions 
among the former.  In fact, developing countries were themselves recognizing that there was not 
necessarily a common developing country position on all issues.  The paper was highly defensive on 
this point.  With regard to the question of how  to address the question of tariff peaks and tariff 
escalation, she said Members were endeavouring to do  so through the use of some type of Swiss 
formula.  It was in accurate to state that developed countries were not willing to liberalize.  Developed 
country Members were participating actively in the negotiations and had submitted several proposals 
to reduce their own tariffs and those of developing countries.  In addition, the mandate was not limited 
to addressing tariff peaks and tariff escalation in de veloped countries.  On the question of whether 
paragraph 8 of the NAMA mandate was a stand-alone provision, her delegation was of the view that 
all the elements of the mandate were inter-related.  It was not possible to come to an agreement on 
one element until all other elements were also in place.  The paper stated that developed countries 
were proposing to start tariff reductions from applied rates, which was inaccurate.  Rather, the United 
States was among those developed country Members that had proposed that bound rates be cut below 
applied rates to achieve real new market access.  Her delegation preferred to continue the discussion 
on the developmental aspects of the negotiations b ased on the Secretariat paper rather than on the 
paper introduced by the representative of South Africa.    
54. The representative of Chinese Taipei  thanked those delegations that had submitted the paper 
introduced by the representative of South Africa.  The paper was very valuable.  His delegation 
agreed that development should be placed at th e centre of the negotiations and supported the 
proposition that developing countries should pu rsue their economic development and their 
industrialization in sectors in which they possessed competitive advantage.  His delegation hoped that 
all Members, developing and deve loped alike, could benefit from the results of the Round.  While 
recognizing that developing countries needed flexibilities in certain sectors, flexibilities provided WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 18  
 
 should be limited in scope.  More  importantly, new market access oppor tunities in both developed and 
developing country markets should be created.  Chin ese Taipei was a beneficiary of liberalization.  
Efforts to liberalize markets had not only provided market access opportunities to its trading partners, 
but had also enhanced the competitiveness of industri es in Chinese Taipei and allowed the creation of 
new industries.  For Chinese Taipei, the main obj ective of the negotiations was to achieve a more 
liberalized trading environment in both developed and developing countries.    
55. The representative of New Zealand
 made the following statement: 
"Let me begin by thanking the Secretariat for the considerable amount of work that 
has clearly gone into producing documen t WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  This is a 
useful document which shows the degree to which development considerations 
permeate all aspects of our work.  Our limited comments reflect the fact that overall 
we see this as a useful exercise.  We realize the Secretariat document has been produced under its own responsibility and is h eavily caveated.  Therefore, we hesitate 
to bring up specific issues.  Nevertheless, we do wish to place on record our position 
on a couple of points and to echo the previous statement made by Australia. 
First, in relation to Part F, Implementati on Related Issues (para. 69), we too question 
the way the paper attempts to prioritize th e issue of GI extension and the way in 
which GI extension has been characterized  as the single issue blocking progress on 
other outstanding implementation issues.  Chair, if only the answer to this set of issues was quite so simple. 
Second, we turn to part H of the paper: TRIPs (para. 86).  Again we have some 
questions about the way in which the Secr etariat has characterized aspects of the 
negotiation in the TRIPs Special Session.  Th is is a negotiation of particular interest 
to us. Therefore, we are concerned to see the way in which the Secretariat has 
portrayed the positions of developing country  Members.  This characterization does 
not reflect our understanding of developing  country interests as expressed in the 
Special Session.  
Like Australia, we'd be happy to provide fu rther feedback direct to the Secretariat on 
this matter and perhaps also other elemen ts of the paper such as those comments 
raised by the United States in relation to NAMA.  We hope our comments will be taken into account in the next version of the document for distribution early next year. 
Finally, we can't help but make a more ge neral comment in relation to the GI aspects 
of the Secretariat paper and note that we  have on a number of occasions questioned 
the development credentials of these GI issues.   We stand to be corrected but we note 
that the co-sponsors of the new paper, 'Reclaiming Development in the WTO Doha 
Development Round', have not menti oned GIs at all in their paper." 
56. The representative of Jamaica
 thanked the Secretariat for its revised document.  Her 
delegation believed the WTO had a development manda te.  It shared the disappointment of other 
developing country delegations that not much progr ess had been made in carrying out the mandate.  
The development outcome of the Round would be me t through a number of reinforcing elements.  
These included the meaningful implementation of paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration and the 
treatment of development as a cross-cutting issue in the various sectors of the negotiations.  The 
treatment of the small economies was also importa nt.  Her delegation looked forward to working 
constructively with Members towards such a desi red outcome.  She thanked the co-sponsors of the 
paper submitted by South Africa.  Her delegati on looked forward to commenting on that paper on a 
future occasion.   WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 19 
 
 
 57. The representative of Argentina  thanked the Secretariat for document 
WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  He noted that a revised version of the paper would be prepared early 
next year.  He drew the attention of the Committee to paragraph 19 of the pa per. Reference was made 
in that paragraph to "advanced developing countr y markets".  However, the category of "advanced 
developing countries" did not exist in the Marrakesh  Agreement and it was not appropriate to use it in 
the context in which it was mentioned in the Secretar iat paper.  The reference should be deleted in the 
revised version of the paper.  On behalf of Arge ntina and Chile, he said he supported the statements 
made by Australia and New Zealand with  regard to paragraph 69 of document 
WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.   
58. The representative of Djibouti  said he wished to draw attention to an important issue which 
was mentioned in paragraph 63 of the revised Secr etariat paper.  This was the issue of technical 
assistance (TA).  Most developing countries, and in particular LDCs, were in need of TA.  However, in order to benefit from TA from the WTO it was n ecessary to know which Division of the Secretariat 
to contact.  Small and newly-arrive d delegations were not always aware of the procedure to follow in 
that regard.  He, therefore, sought clarification from the Secretariat. 
59. The Director of the Development Division
 said the problem raised by the representative of 
Djibouti was one that he was aware of.  The focal  point for LDCs was the LDC Unit, which also 
covered TA issues relating to the Integrated Fram ework.  The Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC) was, however, the main focal point for TA in the WTO.  In addition, TA on a technical issue might be provided by the relevant s ubstantive Division.  He said the Secretariat would 
try to find a way to make it clearer for delegations  to know where to address queries relating to TA.  
60. The representative of Mexico
 said her delegation considered the present discussion very 
opportune.  She thanked the Secretariat for its re vised document and the numerous delegations that 
had submitted the paper presented by the representativ e of South Africa.  She said the development 
agenda would not be finalized by only dealing with  special situations.  The development agenda was 
much wider.  The Doha mandate specified that S&D be made more precise, effective and operational. 
It was not a matter of dividing developing co untries.  Her delegation supported Argentina in 
requesting that the reference in paragraph 19 to "advanced developing country markets" be deleted 
from the revised Secretariat paper.  The present discussion should serve to advance the development 
agenda and not to multiply regional problems.  
61. The representative of Malaysia  welcomed document WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  Her 
delegation supported the request made by others th at the reference in paragraph 19 to "advanced 
developing country markets" be deleted from the re vised Secretariat paper.  Her delegation agreed 
with the general thrust of the paper presented by  the representative of South Africa.  Support could 
also be given to the proposal for a development audit of the Round.     
62. The representative of Costa Rica  thanked the Secretariat for document 
WT/COMTD/W/143/Rev.1.  His delegation had made  substantial comments at the previous CTD 
meeting, and many of these had been reflected in the revised Secretariat document.  However, the 
structure of the document had also changed in the revision.  His delegation reserved the right to 
transmit comments in areas where it believed more work was necessary.  The Secretariat document 
was a living document which could be modified as negotiations advanced.  He supported Brazil and 
Colombia in emphasizing the offensive interests of  developing countries.  It was through enhanced 
market access that the best development results  would be achieved from the Round.  Market access 
was fundamental for Costa Rica.  South-South trade would form part of the developmental benefits 
from the Round, and should be highlighted to a greater  extent in the Secretariat paper.  He thanked 
those delegations that had submitted the paper intr oduced by the representative of South Africa.  
Costa Rica would provide comments on that paper at a later date.      WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 20  
 
 63. The representative of Canada
 said his delegation appreciated the present discussion.  The 
presence of several Ambassadors was indicative of its importance.  He welcomed the revised Secretariat document, which provided a useful overvi ew of the state of play across the various areas 
of the negotiations.  His delegation, however, had so me concerns with the document.  For example, it 
shared the concerns of others with regard to paragraph 69.  He looked forward to continuing the 
present discussion after the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  The paper introduced by the 
representative of South Africa was interesting and stimulating, and would help delegations in 
addressing the development dimension in the lead- up to the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.   
64. The representative of Kenya
 welcomed the revised Secretariat document.  Her delegation saw 
the document as work in progress and supported the idea of regularly reviewing the document until 
the end of the Round.  She believed the propone nts of the commodities issue had made more 
submissions than had been reflected in paragraph 19 of the document.  Her delegation would revert 
with more detail on the omissions in that paragraph.   Her delegation believed that trade liberalization 
should not be to the detriment of any developing co untry.  Solutions should be found within the WTO 
for any negative effects arising from trade liberalization.     
65. The Chairman  said discussion of paragraph 51 of th e Doha Declaration was a standing item 
on the CTD's agenda.  In the last two meetings of  the CTD, the paragraph had been given its due 
importance.  The presence of the Director-General  and several Ambassadors at the present meeting 
demonstrated this importance.  The Secretariat pape r would be revised before the next CTD meeting.  
The discussion would remain on the agenda of the CTD until the end of the Round.  Discussion at a 
high-level of representation was appropriate for at least every other meeting of the CTD.  The CTD 
would remain the focal point for discussion on the developmental aspects of the negotiations.  
66. The Committee took note  of all interventions. 
D. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
- AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH 
EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)  AND THE PEOPLE 'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
(WT/COMTD/N/20/A DD.1 – WT/COMTD/51/A DD.1) 
67. The Chairman  recalled that at the previous meeting of the CTD, the Committee had 
considered a notification concerning the Agreement on Trade in Goods of the Framework Agreement 
on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between th e Association of South East Asian Nations 
(ASEAN) and the People's Republic of China.  The notification was circulated as document 
WT/COMTD/N/20/Add.1.  The text of the Agreement was circulated as WT/COMTD/51/Add.1.  It 
had been agreed at the last meeting of the CT D that the Committee would once again consider the 
notification at the present meeting.  This was in vi ew of questions that Members wished to raise on 
the notification.  He inquired whether any Member wished to take the floor.  
68. The representative of China  said he wished to provide answers to questions raised by some 
Members at the previous meeting of the CTD.  He said there was no stand-alone agreement on 
non-tariff barriers (NTBs) between ASEAN and Ch ina, even though there were some provisions 
relating to quantitative restrictions and safeguards in  the Agreement on Trade in Goods.  According to 
the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Ec onomic Cooperation betwee n ASEAN and China, 
the parties would prepare lists of their NTBs after the Agreement on Trade in Goods came into force, 
with a view to phasing them out.  The timeframe to eliminate NTBs was subject to negotiation.  
ASEAN and China would notify any agreement on NTBs to the CTD. ASEAN and China did not 
believe the Agreement on Trade in Services between  the parties was relevant to their notification  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 21 
 
 
 obligations under the Enabling Clause.  The parties, therefore, had nothing to add beyond the content 
already notified.    
69. The representative of the United States  thanked China for the responses provided.  She 
wished to emphasize that the En abling Clause had no provisions for NTBs.  If ASEAN and China did 
enter into an agreement on NTBs, they would have to notify the agreement in a forum other than the 
CTD. 
70. The representative of the European Communities  said his delegation was continuing to 
examine the notification, and would wish to come back to it at a future meeting of the CTD. 
71. The representative of China  said that according to his delegation's understanding of the 
relevant provisions of the Enabling Clause, de veloping country Members could notify an NTB 
agreement between them to the CTD. 
72. The representative of the United States  said there was longstanding le gal interpretation on this 
issue. 
73. The representative of Malaysia  said her delegation supported the statement of China.  By way 
of clarification, she drew the attention of the Committee to Article 8 of the Agreement on Trade in 
Goods which dealt with quantitative restrictions and NTBs.  Work on these issues was ongoing.  With 
regard to the Agreement on Trade in Services, a d ecision to notify the Agreement in the appropriate 
forum would be made once the negotiati ons had been concluded.      
74. The Committee took note  of the notification and all interventions.    
E. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO TRADE 
AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES  
75. The Chairman  said this item had been on the agenda of the CTD for some time.  He recalled 
that at the last meeting of the CTD he had proposed to the Committee to postpone a detailed 
discussion on commodities until the first meeting of th e CTD in 2006.  He had also mentioned that 
Kenya would be willing to make a presentation at that meeting on its experiences with commodities.  
The item was, however, also on the agenda for the present meeting.  He inquired whether any 
Member wished to take the floor. 
76. The representative of the United States  said her delegation had a specific proposal for future 
work on the commodities issue which could add depth and balance to the discussion in the CTD.  In 
particular, her delegation proposed building on earlier presentations by UNCTAD and the Common 
Fund for Commodities by inviting relevant ins titutions to make presentations on specific 
commodities.  Such presentations could identify appr opriate roles for international organizations and 
also focus attention on the critical role of the priv ate sector in trade and development outcomes.  Her 
delegation suggested the International Tropical Ti mber Organization and the International Coffee 
Organization could be invited to make presentations in the CTD.  This would provide an opportunity 
to examine the experiences these institutions had had in dealing with specific commodities.  It would 
also draw on the perspectives of the private sect or, which had played an active role in both the 
institutions and their work.     
77. The representative of Kenya  confirmed her delegation would be making a presentation at the 
next CTD meeting.  She also drew the attention of  the Committee to an African Union Declaration on 
commodities that had been passed by African Unio n Ministers the previous week in Arusha, 
Tanzania.  The Declaration would be shared with Members.  WT/COMTD/M/55 
Page 22  
 
 78. The Committee took note
 of all interventions.  
F. EXPORT HELPDESK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES :  PRESENTATION BY THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES  
79. The Chairman  said a representative of the European Communities was to have made a 
presentation at the present meeting on the European Communities' Export Helpdesk for Developing 
Countries.  However, he had been informed that the representative was unable to attend the meeting.  
He, therefore, proposed that the presentation be postponed until the next meeting of the CTD. 
80. It was so agreed .  
G. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING  
- S TRATEGIC REVIEW OF WTO-P ROVIDED TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE :  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN  
81. The Chairman  made the following statement:  
"At the adoption of the Terms-of-Reference (TOR) of the Strategic Review of WTO 
Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) activities by the Committee on 11 May of this year, the CTD entrusted me to organize the Steering Committee of the 
Strategic Review as stipulated in the TOR and carry out due consultations with the 
Members.  
The consultations resulted in a six-member  Steering Committee that is composed of 
three representatives of the recipient Members of WTO TRTA and three representatives of donor Members:  Sri Lanka , Rwanda, Argentina, Belgium, Japan 
and Sweden.  The Steering Committee held its first meeting in July, which resulted in 
an invitation for a tender to conduct the St rategic Review.  To make it as open as 
possible, the tender was announced on WT O's public Web-site.  Delegations were 
also kept informed. 
By the end of September, we received a to tal of 40 bids, which were examined along 
agreed-upon selection criteria in three subsequent meetings of the Steering 
Committee in October.  Finally, on the basis of a unanimous decision of the members 
of the Steering Committee, an Indian/Arg entinean/Canadian consortium composed of 
the Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), the Latin American School of Social 
Sciences (FLACSO) and the North-South Institute (NSI)  was chosen and contracted 
to carry out the Strategic Review.   
On 23 November the inception workshop aimed at officially launching the Strategic 
Review of WTO TRTA activities was held.  The consortium presented the 
methodology of the Strategic Review and a tentative schedule of its implementation. 
The presentation was followed by a discussion and dialogue between members of the Steering Committee, the Review Team and th e Secretariat.  The list of countries for 
inclusion in the field visits of the Review Team will be agreed in consultation with 
the countries concerned.  It was agreed that  a Review Matrix would be prepared by 
the first week of January 2006, that field vi sits would be carried out in January and 
February, and that a draft report shoul d be made available by May 2006."  
82. The representative of Switzerland
 said his delegation was satisfied  that a group of institutions 
had been selected to carry out the Strategic Review.  His delegation wished to have further details on  WT/COMTD/M/55 
 Page 23 
 
 
 the criteria applied by the Steering Committee in choosing the institutions.  A report detailing the 
manner in which the selection process had taken place would be useful. 
83. The Chairman  said the selection process was based on the criteria given in the TOR.  The 
Steering Committee additionally sought to have  representation from both donor and recipient 
Members.  Consideration was also given to mainta ining a gender balance.  Out of 40 candidates, a 
shortlist was first made on the basis of qualificati ons.  The 13 short-listed candidates were evaluated 
on the basis of their qualifications and experience, as well as on the basis of their bids.  The final four 
candidates were interviewed via conference call.  He did not believe a written report on the selection 
process could be provided.  Records of the discussions had not been kept, as all decisions by the Steering Committee had been taken by consensus.  
84. The representative of Switzerland
 said it would be useful to have some information in written 
form on how the final four candidates were evaluate d.  This would enhance the transparency of the 
procedure. It was a matter of importance to his delegation. 
85. The Chairman  said he would not be in a position to respond to the request of the 
representative of Switzerland without first consultin g with the members of the Steering Committee.  
He said it may, however, be possible to provi de a written document on the selection process with 
regard to the last four candidates. 
86. The Committee took note  of the Chairman's statement and the interventions. 
H. DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT 2005  (WT/COMTD/W/144) 
87. The Chairman  said the CTD's draft annual report for 200 5 contained the annual reports of the 
CTD in Regular Session, the CTD in Dedicated Se ssion and the Sub-Committee on LDCs.  He said 
square brackets had been placed in the draft report on  text relating to subjects that were scheduled for 
discussion, but on which discussion had not yet taken place, at the time the report was circulated.  As 
part of the process of adopting the report, the sq uare brackets would be removed and the discussion 
that took place at the present meeting would be appropriately reflected in the report.   
88. The Chairman invited the Committee to consider the report with a view to adopting it.  The 
report, when adopted, would be forwarded to  the General Council for its meeting on 1 and 
2 December 2005. 
89. The Committee adopted  its annual report for 2005.3  
I. OTHER BUSINESS  
90. The Chairman  said there was no item proposed under "Other Business". 
91. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
__________ 
                                                      
3 The report was circulated as document WT/COMTD/55.