RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/12
15November 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3543)
Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Fourth Session
17November 1995
TECHNICAL COOPERATION WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Note bytheSecretariat
I. Introduction
Since theSeventy-Seventh Session oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment heldin
November 1994, thetechnical cooperation activities organized bytheWTO Secretariat continued to
beguided bythefundamental objective toassist recipient countries intheir understanding and
implementation ofagreed international traderulesand,therefore, inachieving theirfuller participation
inthemultilateral trading system.
Atthesametime, theconclusion oftheUruguay Round andtheAgreements thathaveemerged
fromthenegotiations haveadded anewdimension totechnical assistance tobeprovided bytheWTO
infuture. Thepreamble oftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization explicitly states
theneedforpositive efforts designed toensure thatdeveloping countries, andespecially theleast-
developed among them, secure ashare ingrowth ininternational trade commensurate withtheneeds
oftheireconomic development. Moreover, aMinisterial Decision onMeasures inFavour ofLeast-
Developed Countries provides formeasures oftechnical assistance "inthedevelopment, strengthening
anddiversification oftheirproduction andexport bases including those ofservices, aswellasintrade
promotion, toenable them tomaximize thebenefits from liberalized access tomarkets."
Asanimmediate result, asubstantial number ofrequests fortechnical assistance fromtheWTO
Secretariat ontheUruguay Round results hasbeenreceived fromdeveloping country Members, least-
developed Members, economies intransition aswellasacceding countries. Some oftheneeds expressed
infirstinstance related toassistance inpreparing andpresenting schedules ofconcessions ongoods
andcommitments onservices bythose countries thathadoneadditional yeartodischarge thisobligation
under theterms ofthedecision taken attheconclusion oftheUruguay Round. Following thecompletion
ofthisprocess, requests fortechnical assistance havepartly beenofageneral nature, encompassing
abroad range oftradepolicy issues, andpartly veryspecific, addressing precise andnarrowly defined
issues.
While theSecretariat could thuscontinue todischarge itstechnical assistance programme as
inthepastandwithin thelimits ofthefinancial andhuman resources atitsdisposal, thespecific requests
thatfollowed theestablishment ofthenewtrading system required asimultaneous broadening and
deepening ofactivities, totailor them toindividual needs. Thisimplied thatthetechnical assistance
providedthusfarthroughseminars,technicalmissions,workshopsandspecializedcoursesisincreasingly
becoming acombination ofgeneral andspecific assistance. Italsomeant thatpriorities hadtobeset,
withthehighest priority forassistance nowbeing given totherequests made byleast-developed country
Members. Thisisreflected inprojects thathavebeenlaunched orareintheprocess oftaking offand
which willbediscussed inmore detail below. Oneinitiative relates toaWTO project intended to
yieldconcretepolicyconclusionsonhowAfrica'sexportperformancecanbeimproved.AnotherinitiativeWT/COMTD/W/12
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relates toaprogramme thatiscurrently developed toimplement therecently announced WTO Fund
forTechnical Assistance specially focused ontheneeds ofLeast-Developed Countries. Inaddition,
special consideration isgranted tocountries having acceded recently totheWTO aswellassmall
countries notactively involved inthemultilateral trading system.
Another consequence ofthenewtrading system istherecognised needtoprovide technical
cooperation inclose collaboration withother international organizations. Asthisnotewillhighlight,
concerted efforts arebeing made tobetter coordinate WTO activities withother agencies, inparticular
inmapping outajointtechnical assistance programme withITCandUNCTAD onAfrica.
II. Special Assistance toLeast-Developed Countries
Highpriorityisattachedtoprovidingtechnicalassistancetotheleast-developedcountryMembers,
notactively involved intheWTO andinthemultilateral trading system. Least-developed countries
often lackthefinancial andhuman resources andtheinfrastructural capacity tofullyparticipate inthe
trading system, andcannot therefore takefulladvantage ofthebenefits thattrade liberalization can
offer. Toensure theireffective participation, there isaneedforparticular assistance toenable them
tofullygrasp alldetails oftheWTO Agreements, andmore inparticular those thatareofdirect interest
tothem; tobring theirlegislation inlinewithinternational obligations, which inreturn willallow them
tofullyexercise theirrights. Their needs thusarebothofaspecific andglobal nature, encompassing
abroad range oftrade policy issues, which must beaddressed urgently.
Thepolicy linesdeveloped forproviding technical assistance inorder tomeetthespecific and
general requests oftheleast-developed countries aretwo-fold: ontheonehand acontinuation of
implementationoftechnicalassistanceprogrammestothesecountries,tailoringthemasmuchaspossible
tomeetindividual demands; ontheother handdeveloping newstrategies thatwould allow tofocus
moreexplicitly ontheparticular situation ofleast-developed countries ingeneral aswellasonaregional,
sub-regional and,where possible, onacountry bycountry level.
In1995, technical assistance toleast-developed countries hasbeencontinued andstrengthened
intheformoftechnical missions toprepare individual schedules ingoods andcommitments inservices,
andseminars toexplain theresults oftheUruguay Round negotiations andtheWTO legalframework.
Other activities encompassed provision ofdataandtrade information including tariff evaluation of
Uruguay Round benefits andnewopportunities forexports ofindividual least-developed countries.
Inparallel tothese activities, many participants fromthisgroup ofcountries havefollowed theregular
GATT/WTO tradepolicy courses which aredesigned togiveanin-depth knowledge oftheinternational
trading system.
III. Africa
Aninitiative withregard toaddressing theparticular situation ofAfrica isreflected ina
programmeentitled"ElementsforaPlanofActionforAfrica",inresponsetotheMinisterialConference
heldinTunis inOctober 1994. Atthatoccasion, participating countries requested theprovision of
specific technical assistance byinternational agencies, inparticular theWTO (then GATT), inorder
toenable them totakeadvantage ofthenewelements embodied intheUruguay Round Agreements.
Aparticular concern related toexploring avenues andperspectives fordiversification, andtopromote
thedevelopment ofnewforms ofjointaction designed tosecure agreater share ofworld trade for
theAfrican continent.
Thisisthebasisforaprogramme thattheWTO ispreparing incooperation withtheITCand
UNCTAD andwhich willbepresented shortly, which aimsatproviding adynamic approach toissues
ofrelevance totheAfrican countries andpermitting immediate action. ThisPlanofAction includesWT/COMTD/W/12
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short-term, medium-term andlonger-term elements. Itcovers briefings fortrade officials inAfrica,
assistance toimplement theresults oftheUruguay Round withparticular emphasis onimplementing
regulations andlegislations, training, assistance tothebusiness community inrespect ofidentification
oftrade andmarket opportunities, anddiversification oftheexport base.
Inaddition, theWTO Secretariat isconducting aresearch project andorganizing asymposium
forAfrican countries, which willinclude theiractive participation. Thisresearch project on"Africa 's
Trade andDevelopment intheNewMultilateral Trading Environment" isintended toyield concrete
policyconclusionsonhowAfrica'sexportperformancecanbeimprovedinthenewtradingenvironment.
Animportant component willbethepreparation ofanumber ofpragmatic in-depth studies ofparticular
aspects ofAfrica 'seconomies andtrade, which willbeconducted inaclosely cooperative and
complementary waywithother major multilateral institutions.
TheWTO isalsocollaborating withtheEuropean Union, which hasagreed toprovide the
funding toorganize sub-regional seminars forACPcountries in1996. Thisseries ofseminars isbeing
organized incooperation withtheACPSecretariat andwillinclude sixsub-regional seminars inAfrica,
oneintheCaribbean andoneintheAsia-Pacific region.
IV. WTO Fund forTechnical Assistance
TheNorwegian Government hasmade acontribution ofUS$2.5m towards aWTO Technical
Assistance Fundforthebenefit primarily ofleast-developed countries andAfrican countries asagroup.
Themainpurpose istohelpthese countries build thehuman andinstitutional resources andexpertise
necessary toparticipate fullyintheinternational trading system, andinparticular tobeinaposition
tomeet their WTO obligations andbenefit from thesystem. These funds willcover athree year
implementation period. TheWTO andtheNorwegian Government expect othercountries tocontribute
tothisFund, thusenlarging itsapplication.
Theprogramme thattothiseffect hasbeendesigned bytheWTO defines, totheextent possible
andwithin thebinding constraints oftheFund, specific activities tobeundertaken. Theguidelines
thatwillbefollowed inexecuting theproject arebased ontheconcept ofsustainable development and
theactivities willfocus ontraining andmore broadly onhuman capacity formation andinstitutional
reinforcing.
TheWTO willhaveresponsibility fortheoperation oftheFund andforthesupervision and
execution oftheproject. Activities willbeconducted under itsterms ofagreement andmayutilize
outside resources -suchasconsultants, country experts, etc.-astheWTO mayfindnecessary and
appropriate. Itwillbeimplemented inclose collaboration with other multilateral orregional
organizations suchasUNCTAD, ITC,UNEP, theWorld Bank andregional development institutions.
V. Training, Institution andCapacity Building
Workshops andSeminars
InMay1995, theTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division organized aWorkshop on
Notification Requirements oftheGATT/WTO legalsystem. Theobjective wastocontribute toabetter
understanding ofnotification requirements andtohelpWTO Members discharge theirobligations in
amore effective way. TheWorkshop wasprimarily intended fortradepolicy officials fromdeveloping
countries, butthemeeting wasalsoopentoofficials fromother Members andtocountries which are
intheprocess ofaccession. TheWorkshop included practical anddetailed presentations andwritten
documentation andindicative notification formats were made available. OnedaywasalsodevotedWT/COMTD/W/12
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toindividual consultations byparticipants withSecretariat officials responsible fornotifications under
thevarious Agreements.
During 1995, theTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division organized oversixtynational
orregional seminars, workshops andtechnical missions inAfrica, AsiaandLatin America. Some
ofthese wereofageneral nature while others concentrated ontechnically more complex issues, such
astheharmonized system, customs valuation, rulesoforigin, agriculture, thesanitary andphytosanitary
Agreement, anti-dumping, subsidies andcountervailing duties, services, TRIPs, tradeandenvironment.
Also, some seminars were organized forthebenefit ofcountries intheprocess oforcontemplating
accession.Anumberoftechnicalcooperationmissionsassistedofficialsinthecapitalsofleast-developed
countries andsmaller developing countries inthepreparation ofSchedules ofconcessions ongoods
andcommitments onservices.
ARegional Seminar forAsian developing countries, financed through avoluntary contribution
bytheGovernment ofJapan, wasorganized inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 13-16 March 1995.
Technical Missions onImplementation ofWTO Obligations
Aseries oftechnical missions onimplementation ofWTO obligations wereconducted inseveral
countries ofAfrica, AsiaandLatin America. Other missions covered specific issues related tothe
disciplines included intheAgreements resulting from theUruguay Round.
Courses
Inaccordance withArticle 27.3oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing the
Settlement ofDisputes, theTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division jointly withtheLegal Affairs
Division organized thesixthSpecial Training Course onDispute Settlement Procedures andPractices
from 12-15 September 1995. Theobjective wastobrief andtrain officials from developed and
developing Members, including non-Members intheprocess ofaccession, onthese matters. The
programme consisted oftheoretical lectures ontheGATT/WTO legalsystem, followed bypresentations
onthedispute settlement procedures andpractices, withspecial emphasis onspecial provisions infavour
ofdeveloping countries. Inaddition, itincluded exercises oncaseproblems relating tothefundamental
principles ofthemultilateral trading system andasimulation ofpanel hearings.
Briefing Sessions
BriefingsessionsforGeneva-baseddelegationsandvisitingofficialsofleast-developedcountries,
developing countries, economies intransition andcountries intheprocess ofaccession areorganized
onaregular basis. These briefings aregiven either forindividual delegations andofficials orinthe
form ofbriefing sessions forseveral delegations. These activities constitute averyimportant aspect
oftechnical assistance andallows toaddress specific concerns ofindividual orgroups ofcountries.
Trade Policy Courses
TheWTOhascontinuedGATT'spracticeoforganizingtrainingcoursesfordevelopingcountries
ontradepolicy, international tradelawandthemultilateral trading system. Offered inEnglish, French
andSpanish, thecourses areopentoofficials from developing countries, including countries which
arenotGATT orWTO Members. Thefirstcourse for24officials washeldinFrench, from23January
to28April 1995. Thesecond course, inEnglish, includes twenty-six officials andrunsfrom28August
to1December 1995. Courses address theresults oftheUruguay Round andtherights andobligationsWT/COMTD/W/12
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ofWTO Members, haveapractical orientation andaredesigned tohelpofficials prepare themselves
forthetasksawaitingthemintheirnationaladministrations.Theparticipantsalreadyhaveresponsibilities
fortheformulation andconduct offoreign trade policy andarenominated bytheir respective
governments. Theprogramme includes participation inseminars andgroup discussions, aworkshop
onnegotiating techniques andsimulated exercises forconducting trade negotiations andforsettling
disputes.
Twoother special Courses wereorganized forofficials fromeconomies intransition. ASpecial
Trade Policy Course forEastern andCentral European andCentral Asian Countries (thefifthofthis
kind) wasfinanced bytheSwiss Government. Amain consideration forholding thiscourse wasthe
needtofacilitate effective participation oftheseeconomies inworld tradeandtheconsolidation oftheir
processes ofeconomic reform. Anadditional reason wastoprovide explanations andtraining toofficials
from some ofthese countries while intheiraccession negotiations totheWTO. Attherequest and
withthefinancial support oftheGovernment oftheUnited States ofAmerica, aSpecial Trade Policy
Course (thesecond) wasorganized forofficials from Belarus, theRussian Federation andUkraine.
In1995, atotalofninety-nine officials from developing countries andfrom economies in
transition participated intheTrade Policy Courses.
Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM)
During theperiod under consideration, technical assistance wasprovided toseveral developing
countries inthepreparation oftheirtradepolicy reviews. While thefrequency ofreviews ofdeveloping
andleast-developed countries islower thanfordeveloped countries, itrepresents amajor andintense
exercise forthese countries; thenumber ofrequests hasthusgradually increased. TheSecretariat is
prepared toprovide assistance inthisareatoallrequesting developing countries, inparticular African
andleast-developed.
Provision ofTechnical Information
TheTechnicalCooperationandTrainingDivisionhascontinuedtopreparestudiesonindividual
products ofinterest todeveloping andleast-developed countries. Upon request, dataontrade flows,
tariffs andnon-tariff measures needed forconsultations andnegotiations haveoftenbeenmade available.
Information wasalsoprovided towards theassessment ofother countries 'offers inmarket access in
goodsofrelevancetodevelopingcountries'exportinterests.Theyhavealsoreceivedtechnicalassistance
designed tohelpthem assess theimpact ontheirservices trade ofspecific commitments onservices
made bydeveloped countries.
Inaddition, comprehensive studies ontheoutcome oftheUruguay Round forrequesting
individual countries orgroups ofcountries, aswellasbackground notes onspecific issues indifferent
areas ofthenegotiations, havebeenprepared.
VI. Joint Technical Assistance withOther International Organizations
TheWTO technical assistance activities arebeing closely coordinated withanumber ofother
international organizations which provide technical assistance ontrade issues. TheWTO Secretariat
hasmade available theservices ofitsofficials forparticipation inseminars, workshops orcourses
sponsored byother organizations, inparticular theInternational Trade Centre, UNCTAD, theWorld
Bank,theIMF,andRegionalEconomicCommissions.TheTechnicalCooperationandTrainingDivision
hasalsocoordinated participation byWTO officials inconferences andother events organized bythese
international organizations.