. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/35
19 December 2001
(01-6383)
Committee on Trade and Development
WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC-COMMERCE
IN THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT1
1. Delegations have requested the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) to continue its
work on e-commerce, consistent with the agreement at the 4th Ministerial Conference.  The suggested
future work outlined below is an attempt to respond to that request.  Any future work on e-commercein the CTD should focus on development-specific issues.  Issues that appear to fall under the
mandates of the other subsidiary bodies of the WTO work programme on electronic commerce have
therefore not been included in this list.
2  This programme of work is without prejudice to any decision
taken in the General Council regarding the most appropriate institutional arrangements for handling
the overall WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce.
A. REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE CTD
2. First, in order to ensure continuity, electronic commerce could be a standing item on the
agenda of each of the regular meetings of the CTD.  Delegations would thereby know that issues with
respect to e-commerce would be raised at each meeting.
3. Second, as the CTD has been designated as one of the four subsidiary bodies to carry out
work on e-commerce under the WTO work programme on e-commerce, the Committee would
continue to respond to requests from the General Council.  The Committee would also continue to
report back to the General Council on its work in the area of electronic commerce and development.
4. Third, the utility of seminars increases if their results are fed back into the regular work of
the WTO.  It would therefore be natural to report to the CTD from the various seminars held under its
auspices.  These reports could for example take the form of reports by the Chairman of the particular
seminar or a report by the Chairman of the CTD on his own responsibility.  The report would givebrief overviews of the main subjects discussed at  the seminars and the main conclusions drawn and
could constitute a basis for further formal discussions on the topic in the CTD.
                                                     
1 This programme of work aims to consolidate:
a)   the illustrative list of points for which further study in the CTD has been proposed (Annex to
document WT/COMTD/26),
b)  the cross-cutting issues identified by delegations at the General Council meeting on 8 May
2001 with respect to development,
c)  the sectoral issues identified by delegations at the General Council meeting on 8 May 2001 for
the Committee on Trade and Development,
d)  issues raised in the seminar on e-commerce held under the auspices of the CTD on 14 June
2001,
e) development-related issues raised in the dedicated discussion on cross-cutting issues of
electronic commerce held under the auspices of the General Council on 15 June 2001, and
f)  issues raised at the informal consultation of the CTD held on 17 July 2001.
2 The other subsidiary bodies being the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services
and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Inte llectual Property Rights according to the WTO Work
Programme on Electronic Commerce adopted by the General Council on 25 September 1998 (document
WT/L/274).WT/COMTD/35
Page 2
5. Fourth, the show-casing of country experiences, including success-stories, have been called
for and could be tied to a follow-up to the seminar on "Government Facilitation of E-commerce for
Development"3.  In order to continue to share country experiences, the CTD could invite one or
several delegations (developing and/or developed) to present their experiences, either with respect to a
particular aspect of e-commerce, or their general approach to e-commerce.
6. The CTD could also be a forum where delegations receive information on activities related
to e-commerce and development in other agencies.  The CTD could invite other international
organizations and bilateral agencies to present what they are doing with respect to e-commerce in
general and if they have any technical cooperation projects in the area in particular.  Agencies could
also be asked to indicate how they cooperate and coordinate with each other.
B. SEMINARS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CTD
7. In order to allow for a more thorough analytical and educational process, delegations have
asked for additional seminars on e-commerce and development.  Approximately one seminar a year
could be envisaged under the auspices of the CTD.  Possible themes for seminars include:
• Revenue implications.  A seminar could be organized dealing with the question of
the revenue implications of e-commerce.  For example, people and agencies whohave done work on the likely effects of electronic commerce on customs revenue in
developing countries could be invited to present their work and reply to questions.
• Effects on competitiveness.  A seminar could be organized to respond to the
questions of: How can developing country enterprises compete in e-commerce?
What will be the impact of e-commerce on domestic producers in specific sectors, in
particular on the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing
countries?  How will supply and demand for particular goods and services be affectedby electronic commerce on a disaggregated level?   What are the substitution effects
of e-commerce in trade?
• Physical infrastructure needs and development.  A seminar could be organized on
physical infrastructure for e-commerce dealing with the questions of:  What are
developing countries doing and what should they do with respect to infrastructuredevelopment?  What needs and possibilities exist for technical assistance in the area
of infrastructure development?  How can developing countries ensure access to
infrastructure and technology, including transfer of technology?
• Human infrastructure needs and development.  A seminar could be organized on
human infrastructure for e-commerce dealing with the questions of: What are the
human resource requirements to address the needs of developing countries in
e-commerce?  How can e-sources be used to address these needs, for example in
education?
8. The above-mentioned themes are not necessarily topics for complete one-day seminars.  For
example, two might be combined into one seminar.  In organizing the seminars, cooperation and
cost-sharing could be sought from other related agencies as appropriate.
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3 Held at the WTO under the auspices of the CTD on 14 June 2001.  Most of the Power-Point
presentations made at the seminar and some additional material are available on the development part of the
WTO Website.