  
  
WT/COMTD/SE/W/42  
 
7 October 2021  
(21-7549) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Dedicated Session  Original: English   
 
WORK PROGRAMME ON SMALL ECONOMIES  – 
PROPOSAL FOR MINISTERIAL DECISION  
The following communication, dated 7 October 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of El Salvador and Guatemala , on behalf of the Group of Small, Vulnerable Economies.  
 
_______________  
 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
 
 
WORK PROGRAMME ON SMALL ECONOMIES  
MINISTERIAL DECISION OF ___________  
 
The Ministerial Conference decides as follows:  
 
We reaffirm our commitment to the Work Programme on Small Economies and take note of all the 
work conducted to date. In particular, we note that document WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/ Rev.10 and its 
previous revisions reflect the work of the Dedicated Session up to the  Twelfth Ministerial Conference. 
We take note of the work carried out since 2018, including that on challenges small economies 
experience in their efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in the area of trade facilitation; 
opportunities and challenges for small economies in attracting investments; economic and trade 
impact  of natural disasters on small economies ; and instruct the CTD to continue its work in the 
Dedicated Session on Small Economies under the overall responsibi lity of the General Council.  
 
Furthermore, we instruct the Dedicated Session on Small Economies to consider in further detail the 
various submissions that have been received to date, examine any additional proposals that 
Members might wish to submit and, w here possible, and within its mandate, make recommendations 
to the General Council on any of these proposals. The General Council shall direct relevant subsidiary 
bodies to frame responses to the trade -related issues identified by the CTD with a view to ma king 
recommendations for action. We instruct the WTO Secretariat to provide relevant information and 
factual analysis for discussion among Members in the CTD's Dedicated Session on Small Economies, 
inter alia , in the areas identified in item k of paragraph  2 of the Work Programme on Small Economies 
and, in particular, to work on integrating  small economies into the post COVID -19 economy: effects 
of the pandemic, challenges and opportunities.  
 
The CTD in Dedicated Session shall continue monitoring the progre ss of the small economy proposals 
in WTO bodies and in negotiating groups with the aim of providing responses, as soon as possible, 
to the trade -related issues identified for the fuller integration of SVEs in the multilateral trading 
system.  
 
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