RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
30 January 2004 
 (04-0353) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Thirty-Fifth Session  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 8 DECEMBER 2003 
 
Chairperson:  Ambassador Johan Molander (Sweden) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. THE WTO  WORK PROGRAMME FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES .......................................1  
(i) Market Access for Leas t-Developed Countries...........................................................................1  
(ii) Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for Least-Developed 
Countries...................................................................................................................... ...............3  
C. OTHER BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................7  
 
  A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Sub-Committee adopted  the proposed agenda contained in document WTO/AIR/2212. 
 
B. THE WTO  WORK PROGRAMME FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
2. The Chairman  stated that progress had been made in implementing the WTO Work 
Programme for LDCs (WT/COMTD/LDC/11).  This was reported in the Annual Report 
(WT/COMTD/W/48), that was adopted by the Co mmittee on Trade and Development (COMTD).   
(i) Market Access for Least-Developed Countries 
3. The Chairman  recalled that Members had commente d on market access conditions for LDCs 
based on the Note by the Secretariat (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/31) at the last session of the Sub-Committee.  A corrigendum (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/31/ Corr.1) had been issued with respect to 
Figure 1 and Table 6 of the document.  He recognized  that several Members, on an autonomous basis, 
had accorded preferential market access to LDCs in th eir markets.  This was in line with Paragraph 42 
of the Doha Declaration, where Ministers had co mmitted themselves to the objective of duty-free and 
quota-free access for LDCs and had agreed to consider additional measures for progressive 
improvements in market access for LDCs.   
- - Notification by Iceland 
4. The Chairman
 noted that several Members had notified new or modified measures affecting 
market access for LDCs.  Specifically, a notification by Iceland and a notification by Japan had been 
forwarded by the COMTD for substantial discussi on in the Sub-Committee.  The notification by 
Iceland was contained in WT/COMTD/N/17.  Some discussion on this notification had taken place at 
the 46th and 47th Session of the COMTD.  He invited Iceland to introduce the notification.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
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5. The Ambassador of Iceland
 said that there had been some discussion on the notification 
(WT/COMTD/N/17) in the COMTD.  The Ministry of Finance of Iceland had issued a regulation, No. 119/2002, dated 29 January 2002, implementi ng a law that was passed by the Icelandic 
Parliament on 15 May 2001.  The law granted un ilateral duty-free and quota-free access to essentially 
all products originating in LDCs.  The tariff prefer ences in the regulation applied to:  (i) products in 
HS Chapters 25 to 97, with the exception of so me products listed in Annex 1;  (ii) processed 
agricultural products, provided they fell within he adings listed in Annex 2 of the regulation, and 
(iii) fish and other marine products, provided they  fell within headings listed in Annex 3 of the 
regulation.  Enclosed with the regulation was a list of processing steps required on non-originating 
materials so that the manufactured product could obt ain originating status.  The list only applied to 
products originating from LDCs liste d in Annexes 1, 2 and 3.  This  initiative was taken further to a 
statement made by Iceland at the General Council in May 2000, and in response to the call made by 
the former WTO Director-General to improve mark et access for LDCs.  It was recognized that steep 
market access barriers were an impediment to economic development and poverty alleviation in 
LDCs.  He added that this initiative reflected the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) principles, 
and would support international efforts to impr ove market access for LDCs.  The preferences 
provided covered all products of importance to LDCs in the Icelandic market. 
6. The representative of Zambia
 thanked the Government of Icel and for its initiative.  He sought 
clarification on whether the Icelandic in itiative covered only 48 of the 49 LDCs. 
7. The Ambassador of Iceland  stated that Senegal was not an LDC at the time when the 
legislation was passed in Iceland.  He assured Memb ers that this issue was being remedied and that 
the Icelandic initiative would soon cover all 49 LDCs.  
8. The Chairman  proposed that the Sub-Committee take note  of the notification by Iceland and 
that the record of discussions be forwar ded and reported back to the COMTD.  
9. It was so agreed . 
 - Notification by Japan 
10. The Chairman  said that the COMTD, at its 45th Session, had forwarded the notification by 
Japan (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.12) to the Sub-Committee.  He recalled that at the last session of the 
Sub-Committee, the representative of Japan had request ed that this item be retained on the agenda so 
that a fuller presentation of this market access initiati ve, including some of the results of TICAD-III 
Conference could be presented.  He invited Japan to introduce the notification. 
11. The representative of Japan  said that his delegation had up dated and notified its GSP scheme 
with particular focus on LDCs.  The revised GSP would further contribute to the economic 
development of developing countries and LDCs thr ough trade.  In accordance with paragraph 42 of 
the Doha Declaration, Japan was committed to th e objective of duty-free and quota-free treatment for 
LDCs.  It had examined the expansion of du ty-free and quota-free treatment coverage for LDC 
products in the fiscal year 2003.  As mentione d in the notification, WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.12, 
effective 1 April 2003, the number of agricultural a nd fishery products from LDCs that were eligible 
for duty-free and quota-free treatment had incr eased to approximately 500 items from around 
300 items previously.  The additional items included pr awns and frozen fish filet.  As for industrial 
products from LDCs, 99 per cent of items had alread y been given duty-free and quota-free treatment.  
With the new initiative, duty-free and quota-free tr eatment coverage for LDCs was expected to 
increase from 80 per cent to over 93 per cent in terms of total import value from LDCs.  Agricultural 
and fishery products that were added in the initiative were listed in Annexes I and II.  Japan remained 
committed to further improving access while monitoring the impact on its domestic industry.   WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
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12. In addition to improved access, his delegati on recognized the importance of alleviating 
supply-side constraints in LDCs.  Capacity-build ing was important for LDCs to fully benefit from 
market access measures.  Japan had extended assistance through multilateral and bilateral channels.  
On the multilateral side, Japan had contributed to the Global Trust Fund, the Integrated Framework 
and JITAP.  On the bilateral front, Japan had r ecently launched a trade-related technical assistance 
initiative to train 4500 experts from developing count ries, and in particular from LDCs.  It had 
launched more than 2000 activities in 2001 and 2002.  Furthermore, Japan by contributing 
US$250,000 annually, was working closely with UNC TAD to assist developing countries and LDCs 
to utilize Japan's GSP scheme.  Through these effort s, Japan continued to work towards improving 
market access and building capacity for the supply- sector needs of developing countries and LDCs.   
13. The representative of Bangladesh  (on behalf of LDCs) thanked the representatives of Japan 
and Iceland for their initiatives to grant duty-fr ee and quota-free access for LDC products.  These 
initiatives would help LDCs in expanding their expor ts.  He noted that the extension of the GSP 
scheme of Japan covered around 90 per cent of products originating fro m LDCs.  However, there still 
remained 10 per cent of LDC products that were ye t to be granted duty-free and quota-free access.  
He added that Japan was an important destination of LDC products and encouraged Japan to grant 
duty-free and quota-free market access to all products originating from LDCs. 
14. The representative of Zambia  associated his delegation with the statement made by 
Bangladesh and thanked Japan for its initiative.  Jap an was a major market for copper and Zambia as a 
copper exporting country recognized the importance of the Japanese market. 
15. The representative of Djibouti  welcomed the initiatives taken by Iceland and Japan.  
He hoped that other donors would follow the example of  Japan and Iceland.  This would bring about 
an even greater improvement in market access for products originating from LDCs.  
16. The representative of Senegal  associated his delegation with the statements of other LDC 
delegations and thanked Iceland and Japan for th eir initiative to expand preferences and improve 
market access for LDCs.  He sought clarification on the Japanese notification and asked whether the 
criteria or set of guidelines established for the em ergency suspension of preferential tariff treatment, 
could be elaborated upon and be made available to Members. 
17. The representative of Japan  clarified that the emergency suspension of preferential tariff 
treatment was not a new feature of the Japanese GSP.   However, guidelines were formulated to make 
the application of emergency measures more tr ansparent and functional.  These guidelines were 
currently being translated from Japane se to other working languages.   
18. The Chairman  proposed that the Sub-Committee take note  of the notification by Japan and 
that the record of discussions be forwar ded and reported back to the COMTD.  
19. It was so agreed . 
(ii) Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building In itiatives for Least-Developed Countries  
- WTO Training and Technical Assistance for Least-Developed Countries 
20. The Chairman  said that the importance of trade-related technical assistance to overcome 
capacity constraints and to draw on the benefits of improved market access opportunities was well recognized.  In this regard, priority was being gi ven to LDCs by the WTO in its Annual Training and 
Technical Assistance Plans and in the context of the Integrated Framework (IF).  He invited the 
Secretariat, to brief the Sub-Committee on WT O Training and Technical Assistance for LDCs. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
Page 4  
 
21. The representative of the Institute for Trai ning and Technical Cooperation of the WTO 
Secretariat  said that development issues were a core asp ect of the Doha Development Agenda.  One of 
the ways to address development issues was throu gh the technical assistance (TA) and training 
programme of the WTO.  Several paragraphs of the Doha Declaration explicitly referred to TA.  
Pursuant to paragraph 41 of the Doha Declara tion, the Director-General had presented a report 
(WT/MIN(03)/3), to the Fifth Ministerial Conf erence, on the implementation and adequacy of 
WTO TA.  A report was also presented pursuant to paragraph 43 of the Doha Declaration on all LDC 
issues.  TA was considered a prerequisite fo r the fuller participation of LDCs in the ongoing 
negotiating process and for the further integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading system.  
22. He reported that in 2003, TA and training had b een delivered by way of national and regional 
seminars, technical missions, training provided in  Geneva and the regional Trade Policy Courses held 
in Africa, for French and English speaking countries, including LDCs.  In the TA plan for 2003, there 
were 447 activities.  Out of these activities, 250 activities were for LDCs.  Approximately 200 of these activities for LDCs had been delivered in 20 03.  This included some 120 activities, involving 
LDCs, that had been carried out at the regional or subregional level, as well as 72 national seminars or 
technical missions that had been undertaken in 33 LDCs.  He added that in 2003, 109 officials from 
about 40 LDCs had participated in the training c ourses organized in Geneva .  Finally, the Geneva 
Weeks held in 2003 also involved LDCs that were non-resident.   
23. He said that the TA Plan for 2004 was discussed at the COMTD on 27 and 
28 November 2003 and a revised document woul d be circulated based on the discussions.
1  Priority 
would be given to LDCs as explicitly stated in  the 2004 TA Plan and some activities would be 
specially designed for LDCs.  He stated that a ke y feature of the TA Plan for 2004 was that it was 
development oriented.  In line with the Doha Deve lopment Agenda, a series of regional seminars were 
proposed on Trade and Development, which would cover Special and Differential treatment, Small 
Economies and other development issues.  Activiti es under the Integrated Framework (IF) for LDCs 
would be linked to the beneficiaries mainstreamin g trade into their national development plans.  
Therefore TA activities targeted to LDCs would be appropriately integrated with the activities of the 
IF and possibly with those of the JITAP.  The 2004 TA Plan also included a series of "products" some 
of which were specifically geared to LDCs.  Products like the Trade Policy Clinics could be 
particularly appropriate for some LDCs.  He recalle d that the first Trade Poli cy Clinic was held in 
Sierra Leone in August 2003.  He added that LDCs would be able  to benefit from more national 
activities than other beneficiary countries.  Sp ecifically, they could benefit from three national 
activities compared with two for other beneficiar y countries.  These national activities would be in 
addition to other activities scheduled under existing programmes.  He said that LDCs had often not 
exercised their right to request for national activ ities.  In 2003, only 33 LDCs had been covered by 
national activities.  This implied that 16 LDCs ha d not directly benefited from assistance at the 
national level.  He said that this issue was being examined and efforts were being made to contact 
each LDC to appraise them of the TA available a nd the procedures to request such assistance.  The 
Secretariat was sending letters to all Members with regard to the 2004 TA Plan.   
24. He stated that an understanding of the needs of the beneficiaries was important.  The 2004 
TA Plan specifically referred to Needs Assessme nts.  The Needs Assessments and formulation of 
TA requests were the responsibility of the benefici aries though the assistance of the Secretariat or 
other experts could be provided.  Needs in th e implementation of existing WTO Agreements and 
participation in the DDA negotiations had to be ex amined by LDCs.  In preparing and executing the 
2004 Plan, the Secretariat had started a process of informal and formal consultations with donors, 
beneficiaries, and regional groupings.  He encouraged  LDCs to actively participate in this process so 
that their concerns and interests could be ta ken into account.  Additionally, in the TA Plan, 
the Secretariat had placed strong emphasis on partnerships, including with the academic community.  
There would also be collaboration with other agen cies, regional bodies and secretariats in line with 
                                                      
1 Issued as WT/COMTD/W/119/Rev.2 and Addendum.  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
 Page 5 
 
 
their available expertise.  The Plan had a larg e number of products on offer, including regional 
activities and training courses.  He encouraged LDCs  to participate in these and the other products 
that were directed specifically to the LDC community.  He hoped that these opportunities would be seized and would further the integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading system. 
25. The Chairman
 noted that emphasis had been given to LDCs in the planning and delivery of 
WTO Training and Technical Assistance.  This ha d been reflected in the WTO Secretariat Annual 
Technical Assistance Plans for 2003 and 2004.  
26. The representative of Senegal  welcomed the report by the Secretariat on WTO TA and 
training for LDCs.  Through increased TA and capac ity-building, LDCs such as Senegal would be 
able to further integrate into the global trading sy stem and be more active in the WTO.  He sought 
clarification on whether the number of national activities that could be undertaken in Senegal and 
other LDCs was 3 per country.  A clearer understandi ng on this would enable LDCs to plan ahead and 
express their needs.  On the issue of a number of  LDCs not submitting their needs or requests for 
national activities, he indicated that  some LDCs were non-residents and had particular difficulties.  He 
agreed that needs analyses were important as a lo t of LDCs had difficulties understanding their real 
requirements.  Assistance from the Secretariat and out side consultants would be welcome in this area.  
He suggested that TA should also be provided to assist LDCs to better utilise preferences and other 
improvements in market access opportunities.  
27. The representative of Djibouti  said that the TA Plan for 2004 underscored development.  
LDCs' participation in the WTO needed to be s upported through technical assistance to improve the 
understanding of WTO rules and negotiations.  Thoug h national seminars had been organized in 
Djibouti, the procedures for requesting technical assistance from the WTO needed to be further 
publicized.  He also suggested outsourcing experts for WTO seminars and missions.  
28. The representative of Zambia  thanked the Secretariat for its report on technical assistance for 
LDCs.  The preparation and drafting of the TA Plan had taken the interests of LDCs into account.  As 
not all LDCs had taken advantage of the TA provide d by the WTO, he suggested that there was scope 
for blending the "demand-driven" principle with a more pro-active approach by the Secretariat and 
other experts who could assist LDCs in identifying  their needs.  Needs so identified could be 
discussed with the LDC concerned and could be the basis of future assistance.   
29. The representative of the United States  recognized that LDCs could have different constraints, 
including limited absorptive capacity for TA.  As s uggested, the WTO Secretariat could be pro-active 
with LDCs so that they could benefit further fro m the TA Plan.  The Sub-Committee could also have 
a role to disseminate the Plan and discuss some common problems faced in WTO TA for LDCs.  On 
the suggestion made for TA on the utilisation of pref erences, she said that the United States provided 
training as did some other bilateral donors.  Finally , she said that the procedures for requesting WTO 
TA could be made clearer to LD Cs and other beneficiaries thr ough the website and other means. 
30. The representative of Djibouti  supported the proposal made by the United States for a greater 
role to be played by the Sub-Committee.  
31. The representative of the Institute for Trai ning and Technical Cooperation of the WTO 
Secretariat  thanked Members for their support of the TA Plan.  In response to the comments made he 
said that the number of national activities that could be undertaken in LDCs were only indicative.  If 
requests from LDCs were received then efforts to  deliver up to three national activities would be 
made.  Other factors such as the regional or subr egional seminars hosted in  LDCs or the activities 
carried out under the Integrated Framework also needed  to be taken into consideration.  He said that 
the WTO Secretariat would contact LDCs in Geneva  and those that were non-resident.  A letter was 
being sent to all Members to disseminate the TA Pl an and to explain how requests for TA could be 
made.  Requests for TA had to be addressed to the Di rector of the Institute for Training and Technical WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
Page 6  
 
Cooperation.  A new email account was also be ing opened to channel WTO TA requests.  The 
suggestion for a more proactive approach in LDCs' n eed identification was welcomed.  In this regard, 
work was being carried out in the Trade Polic y Reviews or in Committee meetings, and it was 
necessary to also use this available information.  
32. The Chairman
 proposed that the Sub-Committee take note  of the report and statements made. 
33. It was so agreed . 
 - Integrated Framework Status Report  34. The Chairman
 said that the LDC Work Programme recognized that in monitoring the 
Integrated Framework (IF), the Sub-Committee would be  guided by the work in other bodies, namely: 
the IF Steering Committee (IFSC) and the IF Working Group (IFWG).  He invited Ambassador 
Iversen (Denmark), in his capacity as Chair of  the IFSC, to report on recent developments. 
35. Ambassador Iversen (Denmark) , as Chair of the IFSC, reported that since the last meeting of 
the Sub-Committee, a number of developments had taken place in the context of the IF namely:  the Third IF Heads of Agency Meeting;  the IF Eval uation Report, and the Extension of the IF to new 
countries.  He said that participation at the H eads of Agency meeting, hosted by the IMF in 
Washington, was broadened to include the f our representatives from the donors and LDCs.  
Bangladesh and Mauritania represente d the LDCs and the donors were represented by Canada and the 
European Commission.  He had also participated  in his capacity as Chairman of the IFSC.  The 
meeting broadly discussed the status of the reva mped IF.  The meeting was held during the IF 
evaluation process and had enabled a representative of  the evaluating team, Capra International, to 
participate and provide their first assessment of the IF, which was that the IF was a success.  The six 
Agencies were pleased with the progress made in the IF and had agreed to further improve it. 
36. He stated that Capra International had subm itted the evaluation report before the Fifth 
Ministerial Conference.  However, the report had a number of shortcomings.  It was difficult to read and the recommendations were not well structur ed.  He said that at the IFSC meeting 
of 27 October2003, Capra had made a better structur ed presentation on the findings of the evaluation.  
The presentation had focused on eight broad progra mmatic areas of the IF where fine-tuning was 
required.  These were:  IF Scope;  Country Selecti on;  LDC Participation and Ownership;  Consultant 
Selection;  Planning, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation;  Capacity development;  
Communication, and Governance.  The IFSC had taken note of Capra's presentation.  At the suggestion of the IF Secretariat, a brainstormi ng session was held on 4 and 5 December 2003.  He 
said that the brainstorming session had discussed the recommendations of the evaluation and had 
noted that many of them were complicated.  On the other hand, all participants had agreed on the need 
to be as diligent as possible to involve the LDCs and the lead donors from the initial phase of the IF 
process.  The group had also agreed on the need to improve the DTIS and to make them more action 
oriented.  Both the IFWG and the IFSC, would, at their first meetings in 2004, discuss further how to 
implement the results of the evaluation.  Overall it seemed that stakeholders were pleased with the IF. 
37. Ambassador Iversen (Denmark) said that the third area he wished to report on was the 
extension of the IF to new countries.  He said that at the IFSC meeting of 27 October 2003, the 
Steering Committee had agreed to move the pro cess forward by allowing the IFWG to begin 
extending the IF to other LDCs.  There were tw o sets of countries, those for which a Technical 
Review by the World Bank had taken place and was considered satisfactory namely:  Benin, Chad, 
Lao P.D.R, Sao Tome and Principe, and Zambia.  Mozambique also fell into that category as it had 
prepared its own study with the assistance of US AID.  The second set of countries, for which no 
Technical Review had yet taken place was:  Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Maldives, Rwanda and Sudan.  
It was noted in the IFSC that there was a need to proceed with  caution by ensuring that the new  WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 
 Page 7 
 
 
countries were committed and ready and that any recommendations resulting from the evaluation 
exercise would have to be taken into account in  applying the IF process in the new countries. 
38. In conclusion, he reported that of the 14 count ries to which the revamped IF was applied, 
Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) had b een completed in 11 countries namely Burundi, 
Cambodia, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Nepal,  Senegal and Yemen.  
Workshops to discuss the findings of the DTIS ha d been held in all 11 countries except Burundi 
where the workshop was scheduled to take pl ace on 18 and 19 December 2003.  Regarding the 
remaining three countries, work was ongoing and ne aring completion in Djibouti and Mali, while the 
IFWG had accepted the decision of the Government of  Eritrea to take a pause.  In addition to the 
14 countries, implementation of follow-up activiti es to the IF Round Table meetings held under the 
"old" IF scheme was ongoing in Bangladesh, the Gambia , Haiti, Tanzania and Uganda and were to be 
completed by the end of 2003. 
39. The representative of Zambia  thanked the six IF Agencies and the donors for admitting 
Zambia into the IF. 
40. The Chairman  proposed that the Sub-Committee take note  of the report by the Chairman of 
the IFSC and the statement made. 
41. It was so agreed. 
 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
42. The Chairman  proposed that the next formal meeting, the 36th Session of the Sub-Committee, 
be scheduled on 9 March 2004.  
43. It was so agreed . 
44. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned . 
 
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