The world’s least developed countries -- a group of 48 nations with 600 million people, but which account for only 0.4 per cent of world exports -- have banded together to submit, for the first time, a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at furthering their integration into the multilateral trading system.
The proposals were presented on Wednesday (7 July) to a special session of the World Trade Organization’s General Council by Bangladesh, on behalf of the grouping. The General Council had met to prepare for the WTO’s Third Ministerial Conference in Seattle (USA) later this year.
Central to the package of 67 proposals put forward by the least developed countries (LDCs) was recognition of the need to strengthen both their competitive position in world trade and their own capacity to supply goods and services that can find an export market. This is regarded as a prerequisite to permit the LDCs’ meaningful, and beneficial, integration.
The package of proposals emerged from a workshop organized by UNCTAD for senior LDC trade officials in Sun City (South Africa) from 21 to 25 June, aimed at helping these countries get ready for Seattle (see Note to Correspondents No. 12). As the LDCs find themselves unable to follow adequately WTO discussions and negotiations, they also agreed to adopt a strategy of collective bargaining to further their interests in the multilateral trading system.
All trade areas -- agriculture, industrial goods and services -- are included in the LDC proposals, together with recommendations on a simplified, "fast-track" procedure for accession to the WTO. At present, 29 of the 48 countries are already Members and nine are observers, of which six1 are now in the process of accession.
The Sun City document calls for help for LDCs to develop their physical and institutional infrastructure, and their human resources. It also asks for improved, and unencumbered, market access, and for their governments to be able to retain the use of appropriate policy instruments to strengthen the competitiveness of export trade sectors considered as having strategic importance.
Given its heavy socio-economic impact on LDCs, any agricultural liberalisation should take into account the special needs of these countries, The document states The LDCs should be allowed to support their agricultural sector, which employs the majority of their working population, mostly small-scale or subsistence farmers.
The LDCs call for immediate duty-free treatment for all their export products. "Special and differential" treatment measures should be made an integral part of the rules and disciplines governing the multilateral trading system, they argued. To ensure the benefits are gained, the LDCs favour a close monitoring of the implementation of "special and differential" treatment and other trade provisions of particular importance to them.
The LDCs officials who met in Sun City recognised that the various international initiatives undertaken recently on their behalf showed an increasing awareness and concern of the international community for the poor socio-economic conditions in the LDCs, and for the need to take corrective action. However, they noted "with grave concern" that the numerous declarations, promises and commitments emanating from such events had, to a large extent, failed to materialise.
They expressed disappointment, for instance, with the slow pace of progress made in the overall implementation of the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance, adopted by a High Level Meeting hosted by the WTO in autumn 1997. The Integrated Framework, which provides technical assistance at the country level, is a joint project of six multilateral agencies: the IMF, the International Trade Center, UNCTAD, UNDP, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.
The Workshop was attended by some 120 representatives from LDCs and from international and subregional organisations, including the Organisation for African Unity. It was financed by the Government of South Africa and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The outcome of the Workshop will also be presented to UNCTAD X in Thailand (Bangkok,12-19 February 2000) and to the preparatory meeting for the Third United Nations Conference on LDCs to be hosted by the European Union in the first semester of the year 2001 in Brussels.
