Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 41 • 4th December 2003

CTD Considers Development Aspects Of Services Negotiations

Do More

Subscribe to Bridges

* required

Email Address: *

Country: *
Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua And Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democractic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia (Hrvatska) Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Islands Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong S.A.R. Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Korea, North Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau S.A.R. Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, The New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua new Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts And Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent And The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad And Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks And Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State (Holy See) Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (US) Wallis And Futuna Islands Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

Employment Sector: *

First Name:

Last Name:

Organisation:

Enter the letters shown above:*

Download this issue

See also

The WTO Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) held its final meeting for 2003 from 27-28 November. At the meeting, the Secretariat presented delegates with a bibliography on the declining terms of trade for primary commodities, and its implications for trade and development of countries exporting primary commodities (WT/COMTD/W/121, available at http://docsonline.wto.org). Members said they would discuss the document at their next meeting, taking the time to study it in the meantime.

Members heard a presentation by Hamid Mamdouh, the Director of the Trade in Services division. He outlined the state of negotiations, focussing on development aspects, as part of the review set out under Article 51 of the Doha Declaration the mandate from paragraph 51 of the Doha Declaration (under which the CTD is to identify and debate the developmental aspects of the negotiations, so as to help have sustainable development appropriately reflected). Mamdouh outlined issues of importance to developing countries, such as modalities that had been adopted for least developed countries (LDCs), and progress on Mode 4 (movement of natural persons). In the ensuing discussion, Members highlighted issues of importance to them. India stressed the need for progress on Mode 4, and Djibouti stressed the role of technical assistance in the services area. Australia said it would like to see more offers from developing countries in the services negotiations.

Members then adopted the annual report for 2003 and the technical assistance and training plan for 2004. However, an annex on regional seminars in the plan remains to be completed. Morocco stressed the need to include the trade policy course for the francophone region in 2004, as it had not taken place this year. Members agreed that the Secretariat would continue consultations on broader issues relating to technical assistance, such as evaluation, monitoring, partnerships, funding, needs assessment etc.

Also at the meeting, Iceland presented an initiative (WT/COMTD/N/17) under which it will grant duty-free and quota-free market access for LDCs.

The next meeting of the CTS is scheduled for 26 February 2004.

ICTSD reporting.