Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 20 • 9th June 2004

WTO In Brief

SUPPLY-SIDE CONSTRAINTS FIGURE IN LDC SUB-COMMITTEE TALKS ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

On 7 June, the 37th session of the WTO’s Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) discussed, inter alia, technical assistance for acceding LDCs and for addressing LDC supply-side constraints. The technical assistance (TA) matters followed on the heels of the 9 March meeting of the Sub-Committee (see BRIDGES Weekly, 10 March 2004), where LDC Members stressed the need for technical assistance at all stages of the accession process and insisted that the Sub-Committee address the problem of supply-side constraints. On the former, the Secretariat presented a document that summarised TA offered by the WTO, Members and other organisations (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/32, available at http://docsonline.wto.org). The document also outlined some of the activities in countries currently in the accession process.

On supply-side assistance (discussed for the first time in the Sub-Committee), a Secretariat document (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/33) noted that in general, "addressing LDCs’ supply-side issues did not directly fall within the mandate of the organisation" and highlighted cooperation with other development partners as the means through which the WTO addressed these concerns. Listing the main activities of the WTO as rule-making, enforcement and market opening through negotiations, the document noted that areas such as services infrastructure (finance, telecommunications and transport) did fall under the WTO work programme. Recognising that LDC needs in these areas might go beyond rule-making and liberalisation, it pointed to additional technical and financial assistance from other development partners as being essential for LDCs to gain full benefit from the opportunities and benefits that the multilateral trading system could generate. Finally, on market access, the Canadian delegation informed Members of the 10-year extension of its General Preferential Tariff and Least-Developed Country Tariff.

The next session of the Sub-Committee will take place at the end of October this year.

ICTSD reporting.