 
 RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/W/137 
11 November 2004 
 (04-4824) 
Committee on Trade and Development  
  
DRAFT 
 
REPORT (2004) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT,  
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT IN DEDICATED SESSION 
AND THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
1 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This report covers the activities of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) in 
Regular Session and Dedicated Se ssion and the activities of the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed 
Countries since its last report issued in 2003.2  
II. WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT IN REGULAR 
SESSION 
2. The CTD held four formal sessions on 18 Fe bruary, 11 May, 28 and 29 September and 
16 November 2004.  The minutes of these meetings  are contained in documents WT/COMTD/M/48 
through WT/COMTD/M/513 respectively.  At the 48th Session held on 18 February, the Chairmanship 
was handed over from Ambassador Habib Mansour (T unisia) to Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke 
(Barbados).  A number of informal consultati ons were also held during this period.   
3. The CTD continues to have outstanding requests for observer status from the League of Arab 
States, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the "Organisation interna tionale de la francophonie", the Common Fund for 
Commodities (CFC) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).  At the 49
th Session, 
the CFC was granted ad hoc observer status to follow, on a meeting-by-meeting basis, the item 
relating to the declining terms of trade for prim ary commodities, and its implication to trade and 
development of primary commodity exporting countries.  Members agreed to continue to invite a number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc meeting-by-meeting basis.  These include 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Economic Co mmunity of West African States (ECOWAS), the 
Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), the Inte r-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, the 
Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the African Un ion (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic 
Conference (OIC), the South Centre, the Pacific Islands Forum, the United Nations Environment 
Programme (UNEP), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  A full  list of intergovernmental organizations with 
observer status in the Committee is cont ained in document WT/COMTD/W/22/Rev.6. 
                                                     
 
1 The Special Session of the Committee on Trade and De velopment, dealing with  the issue of special 
and differential treatment, has its own reporting requirements. 
2 The 2003 annual report of the Committee is contained in document WT/COMTD/48 of 
1 December 2003. 
3 To be issued. WT/COMTD/W/137 
Page 2  
 
 4. The principal themes addressed by the CTD in  Regular Session during the period covered in 
this report included: 
 A. Technical cooperation and training; 
 B. Notifications regarding market access for developing and least-developed countries;  C. Report of the Joint Advisory Group on the International Trade Centre 
UNCTAD/WTO; 
D. Declining terms of trade for primary co mmodities, and its implication to trade and 
development of primary commodity exporting countries; 
E. Paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration on identifying and debati ng developmental and 
environmental aspects of the negotiations, in  order to help achieve the objective of 
having sustainable development appropriately reflected; 
F. Development dimension of electronic commerce;  and  G. Graduation of the Maldives from least-developed country status. 
A. T
ECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING  
5. At the 50th Session of the Committee, Members discussed the draft 2005 Technical Assistance 
(TA) Plan (WT/COMTD/W/133), and the Second Qu arterly Report on the Implementation of the 
2004 Technical Assistance Plan (WT/COMTD/W/132).  While the Committee took note of the Second Quarterly Report, it asked the Secretar iat to revise the 2005 TA Plan. A revision was 
subsequently issued as WT/COMTD/W/ 133/Rev.1 [and considered at the 51
st Session].   
6. At its previous meeting at the 49th Session, the Committee had taken note of the Annual 
Report on Training and Technical Cooperation (W T/COMTD/W/127), the Fourth Quarterly Report 
on Implementation of the 2003 Plan (WT/COMT D/W/126) and the 2003 Technical Co-operation 
Audit Report (WT/COMTD/W/125).  At its 48th Session, the Committee adopted the plan of Regional 
Trade Policy Courses (WT/COMTD/W/123) which were pa rt of the 2004 Technical Assistance Plan.   
7. The Committee welcomed the process of informal  consultations that the Secretariat had 
conducted with Members since the beginning of 2 004 on a range of issues relating to technical 
assistance and training.  They believed that the cons ultations were beneficial in preparing the 2005 
TA Plan.  Moreover, a Mid-Term Review of Techni cal Assistance and Training had been conducted.  
The Committee agreed to forward the Plan to the Committee on Budge t, Finance and Administration 
in order for it to make a recommendation to the Ge neral Council concerning the target for funding for 
the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund for 2005.   
8. [At its 51st Session, the Committee heard a presenta tion by the International Development 
Law Organization (IDLO) on its various trai ning activities in developing countries.]  
B. NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING MARKET ACCESS FOR DEVELOPING AND LEAST -DEVELOPED 
COUNTRIES  
9. At its 48th Session, the CTD took note of the two notifications, one from the Government of 
Australia (WT/COMTD/N/18) and another from th e Government of Iceland (WT/COMTD/N/17 and 
Corrigendum 1).  Since they related to improved ma rket access for LDCs, they were forwarded to the 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (Sub-Committee) for substantive consideration and reporting back following the proce dures agreed to at the CTD's 32
nd Session.4  A t  i t s  49th Session, 
Canada presented the extension of its GSP scheme fo r another ten years and changes to the lists of 
beneficiaries.  It also announced the withdrawal of GSP treatment for ten countries acceding to the 
European Union (WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.2).  At its 50th Session, the Committee took note of another 
                                                      
4 WT/COMTD/M/32  WT/COMTD/W/137 
 Page 3 
 
 
 three notifications made under the Enabling Cl ause.  These concerned a notification from the 
Government of Japan (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.13) , one from the Government of Switzerland 
(WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.2) and one from the Go vernment of China (WT/COMTD/N/19).  The 
notification from Japan related to the exclusion in  its GSP scheme of eight countries as a result of 
their accession to the European Union on 1 May 2 004.  The notification from China related to its 
accession to the Bangkok Agreement in 2001 and its implementation of concessions under that 
Agreement since 1 January 2002.  The notification by Switzerland regarding improved market access 
for LDC exports was forwarded to the Sub-Committ ee for LDCs for substantive consideration and 
reporting back. 
C. REPORT OF THE JOINT ADVISORY GROUP ON THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE 
UNCTAD/WTO 
10. The Joint Advisory Group on the Internationa l Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (JAG) held its 
37th Session on 26 to 30 April 2004.  The report on that meeting is contained in document 
ITC/AG/(XXXVII)/200 of 6 May 2004.  The Chairman of the JAG, Ambassador Henrik Rée Iversen of Denmark, presented the report to the 49
th Session of the Committee.  He noted that a main item in the 
report concerned the ITC's increase of its delivery of  technical assistance to developing and transition 
economies by 19 per cent during 2003.  The Committee took note of the 2004 JAG report and forwarded it to the General Council for adoption.   
D. D
ECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO TRADE 
AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES  
11. Discussions on commodity issues continued at the 48th Session with an examination of 
proposals made by the delegations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda contained in document 
WT/COMTD/W/113 and an inventory of documents re lating to the commodity issue compiled by the 
Secretariat and contained in document WT/COMTD/W/121.  At its 49th Session, the Committee had 
before it two new submissions:  one, from the delegation of Switzerland (WT/COMTD/W/129);  the 
other, from the delegations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (WT/COMTD/W/130).  Both 
submissions contained suggestions on possible ways to move forward on the issue of commodities.  
At its 50th Session, the CFC made a presentation to th e Committee, which later agreed to hold 
informal consultations to determine  how best to address the various issues raised with regard to the 
commodities issue.  An informal consultation was held on 8 November 2004.  [At its 51st Session, the 
Committee heard a presentation by UNCTAD conc erning its recent work on commodities.]  
E. P ARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO 
HELP ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY 
REFLECTED  
12. The item relating to paragraph 51 of the Doha  Ministerial Declaration is a standing item on 
the agenda of the Committee.  Continuing with p ast presentations on agriculture, market access and 
services, in 2004 Members were informed about th e developmental aspects of the dispute settlement 
negotiations.  [A presentation on the developmental aspects of the rules negotiation took place at the 
51st Session of the Committee.] 
F. D EVELOPMENT DIMENSION OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
13. The CTD is one of four subsidiary bodies to  the General Council mandated to work on the 
issue of electronic commerce which is a standing item on its agenda.  At its 48th Session, the 
Committee discussed some of the inter-linkages be tween e-commerce and development issues and 
addressed the possibility of inviting other internationa l organizations with experience in this area to WT/COMTD/W/137 
Page 4  
 
 contribute to discussions in the Committee.  At the 50
th Session, it was agreed that the International 
Telecommunications Union (ITU) would be inv ited to make a presentation.  [At its 51st Session, the 
Committee discussed work concerning the ITU's preparations for the second phase of the World 
Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in 2 005 and examined the trade-related aspects of 
e-commerce for developing countries.]  
G. G RADUATION OF THE MALDIVES  
14. At the 49th Session, the Maldives presented a submission (WT/COMTD/W/128) relating to its 
possible graduation from LDC status.  Several Member s stressed the need for coherence between the 
United Nations and the WTO and the Chairman said he would hold consulta tions.  Two Secretariat 
papers were circulated to Members.  The first,  contains a list of WTO special and differential 
treatment provisions for LDCs (W T/COMTD/W/135) and the second,  a background note on the UN's 
graduation process (JOB(04)/134). 
III. WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT IN DEDICATED 
SESSION ON SMALL ECONOMIES 
15. Pursuant to paragraph 35 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration5, the General Council, at its 
meeting on 1 March 2002, took note of the framework  and procedures for the conduct of the Work 
Programme on Small Economies.6  Paragraph 2(d) of that documen t states that "The General Council 
shall instruct the CTD to have a programme of work on small economies which will be conducted in 
dedicated sessions of the CTD". 
16. The Dedicated Session held two formal meetings on 12 May and 3 November 2004 on the 
Work Programme on Small Economies under the Chai rmanship of Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke 
(Barbados).  The meetings were held during Geneva  Week to ensure the participation of Members 
without missions in Geneva.  Two new proposals were  introduced in the Dedicated Session held in 
May.  The first, entitled "Proposals submitted by the landlocked countries", was submitted by Bolivia, 
Mongolia and Paraguay in WT/COMTD/SE/W/10. Th e second was an elaboration of earlier proposals 
contained in WT/COMTD/SE/W/3 and was submitte d by Barbados, Fiji, Mauritius, Papua New 
Guinea, Solomon Islands and Trinidad and Tobago in WT/COMTD/SE/W/11.  The Minutes of these 
meetings are contained in documents WT/COMTD/SE/M/7 and WT/COMTD/SE/M/8.7   
IV. WORK OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
17. During the period covered by this annual report, the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed 
Countries held four formal meetings on 8 December 2003 and on 9 March, 7 June and 
29 October 2004.  The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents 
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/35 through WT/COMTD/LDC/M/388 respectively. Ambassador 
Johan Molander (Sweden) chaired the meeting on 8 December 2003.  All the meetings in 2004 were 
chaired by Ambassador Ian de Jong (Netherlands). 
18. Since the previous report, the work of  the Sub-Committee has mainly focused on 
implementing the WTO Work Programme for LDCs  as adopted by Members on 12 February 2002. 9  
The subjects considered during the reporting period were: 
                                                      
5 WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 
6 WT/L/447 
7 To be issued. 
8 To be issued. 
9 WT/COMTD/LDC/11  WT/COMTD/W/137 
 Page 5 
 
 
 (i) Accession of LDCs; 
(ii) Market Access for LDCs;  
(iii) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Initiatives for 
LDCs;  and 
(iv) Providing, as appropriate, support to agencies assisting with the 
diversification of Least-Developed Countries' production and export base. 
 
(i) Accession of LDCs 
19. The Sub-Committee considered the ite m on Accession of LDCs at its 36th and 37th Sessions.  
At its 36th Session, a Secretariat paper on the state of play of LDC accessions was circulated to 
facilitate discussion.10  The need to continue implemen ting the Guidelines on LDCs' Accession11 and 
the importance of technical assistance and capacity bu ilding at all stages of the accession process were 
emphasised.  At that meeting, the Secretariat was re quested to prepare a note on the type of technical 
assistance provided to acceding LDCs.  At the 37th Session of the Sub-Committee, the note by the 
Secretariat on Technical Assistance for Acceding LDCs was discussed.12  Members welcomed the 
paper which provided an overview of the type of technical assistance required to assist LDCs in their 
accession process.  It also included a non-exhaustive summary of the assistance provided by the WTO 
Secretariat, by WTO Members as well as that offe red by other international organisations.  The 
importance of continuing to provide assistance to those LDCs that had completed the accession 
process but still faced difficulties fulfilling their co mmitments was underscored.  The meeting also 
welcomed Nepal as a full WTO Member. 
(ii) Market Access for LDCs 
20. Market Access for LDCs was considered in all the meetings of the Sub-Committee during the 
period covered by this report.  To address the issues listed in paragraph 7 of the WTO Work 
Programme for LDCs, the Secretariat presented a note on the annual review of market access for products originating from LDCs (WT/COMT D/LDC/W/35 and TN/MA/S/12) at the 38
th Session of 
the Sub-Committee.  Preparations for the drafting of this document commenced at the 37th Session of 
the Sub-Committee, when the Secret ariat outlined the approach and elements of the report.  The note 
by the Secretariat contained information regardi ng LDCs' export profile, tariff measures, initiatives 
and improvements made in providing market access fo r LDCs, as well as the utilization of preferences 
as a special topic.  
21. In line with the LDC market access reporting procedures,13 the Sub-Committee discussed five 
notifications forwarded to it by the CTD for discussion and reporting back.  At its 35th Session, the 
notifications by Iceland (WT/COMTD/N/17) and Japan (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.12) were discussed.  
The Sub-Committee welcomed the improvements in ma rket access for LDCs that were in line with 
paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  At its 36th Session, the Sub-Committee considered 
a notification by Australia (WT/COMTD/N/18) to grant duty- and quota-free entry to imports from 
the LDCs.  Members welcomed Australia's initiativ e and sought some clarification concerning rules 
of origin for duty-free entry.  Clarifications a nd answers to questions posed were circulated by 
Australia (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/34) to all Members.  At the 37th Session, Canada informed the 
Sub-Committee that it had extended its General Pr eferential Tariff and Least-Developed Country 
                                                      
10 JOB (04)/3 
11 WT/L/508 
12 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/32 
13 These reporting procedures were agreed to by Members at the 32nd Session of the CTD 
(WT/COMTD/M/32) and at the CTG meeting on 14 March 2001 (G/C/M/47). WT/COMTD/W/137 
Page 6  
 
 Tariff for a further ten years and had made  changes to the list of beneficiaries 
(WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.2).  At the 38
th Session, the Sub-Committee took note of the notification by 
Switzerland (WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.2) reporting on the implementation of second stage of tariff 
reductions for LDCs in the agricultural sector with effect from 1 April 2004. 
22. At the 38th Session, the Sub-Committee considered a submission by the LDCs in 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/36 concerning market access for te xtiles and clothing after the expiry of the 
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).  The LDCs requested the WTO to undertake a study on 
issues relating to the phase out of ATC.  In light of the consultations being held in the CTG on a 
similar submission (G/C/W/496), the Sub-Committ ee agreed that its Chairman would undertake 
consultations with the Chairman of the CTG a nd report back to the Sub-Committee at a future 
meeting.  
(iii) Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capac ity-Building Initiatives for Least-Developed 
Countries 
23. The item on technical assistance and capacity-bui lding initiatives for LDCs was considered at 
the 35th, 36th, 37th and 38th Sessions of the Sub-Committee.   
- WTO Training and Technical Assistance 
24. At the 35th Session, the Secretariat briefed Members on WTO training and technical 
assistance activities and the priority attached to LDCs in its delivery.  This priority was reflected in 
the Annual WTO Technical Assistance Plans.  It  was highlighted that LDCs had difficulty in 
identifying and transmitting their technical assistan ce needs and requests to the WTO Secretariat.   
- Assistance to Address Supply-Side Constraints 
25. Assistance to address supply-side c onstraints was considered at the 37th and 38th Sessions of 
the Sub-Committee.  Discussions were based on the note prepared by the Secretariat 
(WT/COMTD/LDC/W/33).  The document noted that although the issue of supply-side constraints went beyond the mandate of the WTO, the WT O had tried to respond through a number of 
co-operation arrangements with other institutions  including through initiatives such as the Joint 
Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP) and the Integrated Framework (IF).  A number 
of delegations emphasized the need to furthe r strengthen the cooperation of WTO with other 
organizations to better address supply-side constrai nts of LDCs.  Members welcomed the note as a 
good basis for further discussion on supply-side constraints.  At the 37
th Session, representatives of 
UNIDO, the World Bank and ITC briefed the Sub-Co mmittee on how they were assisting the LDCs in 
addressing the supply-side constraints of LDCs.  At the 38th Session, several delegations requested the 
Secretariat for additional specific data in order to have a more in-depth discussion on the item at a 
future meeting. 
- Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance (IF) 
26. At the Sub-Committee's 35th meeting, the Chairman of the IF Steering Committee (IFSC) 
briefed the Sub-Committee on the IF's Third Heads of Agency meeting, on the report of the second 
major evaluation of the IF and on the extension of the IF to new countries.14  At the Sub-Committee's 
36th meeting, the Chairman of the IFSC reported that at the 11th meeting of the IFSC a summary of the 
IF evaluation report had been circulated as docum ent WT/IFSC/6/Rev.2/Add.1.  In December 2003, 
the Integrated Framework Working Group (IFWG) had held a one and a half day retreat to further 
                                                      
 14 The Joint Communiqué by the six Core Agencies of the Integrated Framework is contained in 
document WT/IFSC/5.   WT/COMTD/W/137 
 Page 7 
 
 
 discuss the recommendations contained in the eval uation report.  Based on the outcome of these 
discussions, the IFWG had drawn up a Work Pr ogramme on follow-up actions to implement 
recommendations of the evaluation.  The Work Pr ogramme, adopted by the IFWG and subsequently 
approved by the IFSC, was circulated to Memb ers of the Sub-Committee on 17 February 2004 as 
document WT/IFSC/7.  Minutes of the meetings of the IFSC held in the period under review are 
contained in documents WT/IFSC /M/9 and WT/IFSC/M/10.  General progress in the IF can be 
reviewed on its website: www.integratedframework.org. 
(iv) Providing, as appropriate, suppor t to agencies assisting with the diversification of LDCs' 
production and export base 
27. At its 36th Session, the Sub-Committee considered th e item on providing support to agencies 
assisting with the diversification of LDCs' produc tion and export base.  A representative of UNCTAD 
briefed the Sub-Committee on work undertaken by UNCTAD in support of LDCs' production and 
export base.  Members welcomed the work undert aken by UNCTAD and expressed an interest in 
inviting other organisations to brief th e Sub-Committee at future meetings. 
 
__________ 
 
 