17 December 2015

DRAFT TEXT: SPECIAL & DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT (S&D)

The attached text is being circulated by the Facilitator for S&D, together with the Chair of the
Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) in Special Session, on their own responsibility.
Further to the consultations carried out in Geneva, consultations resumed in Nairobi this week, and
both the Facilitator and the Chair met Members in various configurations. Based on these
consultations, an attempt has been made to find middle ground on a number of proposals which
could be harvested at this juncture.
The attached text should be considered with realism and flexibility. It has been issued with the
objective of assisting Ministers find common ground, and in keeping with this aim this text should
be considered to expire at the end of the Tenth Ministerial Conference.
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SPECIAL & DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT

DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECISION OF DECEMBER 2015

The Ministerial Conference,

Having regard to paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization;
Recalling paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the Work Programme on S&D;
Reaffirming that the provisions for special and differential (S&D) treatment remain an
integral part of the WTO Agreements;
Decides to adopt the following decisions:
Proposal 2 - Article XVIII of GATT Section B
Members reaffirm that Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 is a special and differential treatment
provision for developing countries and that recourse to it should be less onerous than to Article XII
of the GATT 1994.
The Committee on Balance of Payments shall, in drawing up its conclusions and proposals for
recommendations to the General Council regarding the need to take measures under
Article XVIII:9 by a developing country Member, in particular a least developed country Member,
coming within the scope of paragraph 4(a) of Article XVIII, consider the development context of
the Member concerned.
a)

In this regard, the Secretariat shall provide in a timely manner a report on the trade
measure in the context of the Members overall economic development.

b)

The Secretariats background paper shall highlight any data on short-term financial
flows including foreign participation in equity markets contained in the IMFs
submission to the Committee.

The Committee on Balance of Payments invites the IMF to also report on the concerned Members
international investment position, current account deterioration due to commodity price shocks,
and volatility of financial capital flows.
Proposal 4 - Article XXVIII of GATT and its Understanding
Notwithstanding Ad note 4 and 5 of paragraph 1 of Article XXVIII, Members agree that when a
Member proposes to withdraw or modify a concession on a product, a least developed country
Member, whose exports of that product to the destination market of the Member invoking the
provision constitute a major part of its total exports, shall be deemed to have the same rights as
the holders of a principal supplying interest.
Proposals 6 & 7 - Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Developed country Members shall to the extent practicable, provide developing country Members,
in particular the least developed country Members, at least a 90-day comment period before the
adoption of the measure. However, upon request, endeavour shall be made to grant a longer
period of time in the case of a least developed country Member.
Upon request, a developed country Member proposing an SPS measure shall endeavour to consult
directly, at an early stage, with a developing country Member with capacity constraints, in

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particular a least developed country Member, exporting a product that would be covered by the
proposed SPS measure.
Where the appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection allows scope for the phased
introduction of new sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and where a developing country
Member, in particular a least developed country Member, is or will be adversely affected by a
proposed or final SPS measure, and so requests, the following procedures shall apply:
a)
Where possible, longer time-frames for compliance with the measure shall, to
the extent practicable, be considered for products of interest to developing countries
with capacity constraints, in particular the least developed country Members, so as to
help maintain opportunities for their exports.
b)
Where substantial investments are required in order for an exporting developing
country Member, in particular a least developed country Member, to fulfil the sanitary
or phytosanitary measures proposed or applied by a developed country Member, an
endeavour shall be made to provide financial or technical assistance to enable
compliance by the affected Member.
Proposal 15 - Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Developed country Members shall to the extent practicable, provide developing
country Members, in particular the least developed country Members, at least a 90day comment period before the adoption of the measure. However, upon request,
endeavour shall be made to grant a longer period of time in the case of a least
developed country Member.
Upon request, a developed country Member proposing a technical regulation or standard shall
endeavour to consult directly, at an early stage, with a developing country Member with capacity
constraints, in particular a least developed country Member, exporting a product that would be
covered by the proposed technical regulations or standards.
Where the appropriate level of technical regulation or standard allows scope for the phased
introduction of new technical regulation or standard, and where a developing country Member, in
particular a least developed country Member, is or will be adversely affected by a proposed or final
technical regulation or standard, and so requests, the following procedures shall apply:
a)
Where possible, longer time-frames for compliance with the measure shall, to
the extent practicable, be considered for products of interest to developing country
Members with capacity constraints, in particular the least developed country Members,
so as to help maintain opportunities for their exports.
b)
Where substantial investments are required in order for an exporting developing
country Member, in particular a least developed country Member, to fulfil the technical
regulation or standard proposed or applied by a developed country Member, an
endeavour shall be made to provide financial and technical assistance to enable
compliance by the affected Member.
Proposal 19 - Agreement on Safeguards
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 9.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards, Members shall
endeavour to increase the threshold with respect to the application of safeguard measures against
a product originating in a least developed country Member to above 3%.
Least developed country Members shall have the right to extend the application of safeguard
measures for an additional period of two years over and above the flexibility for extension granted
to all developing countries as in Article 9.2.
In assessing what means of trade compensation would be adequate, Members shall consider the
circumstances of a developing country Member proposing to apply or seeking to extend a
safeguard measure, including the extent to which certain industries in such developing country

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Member are able to withstand a potential suspension of concessions by an affected exporting

Member or potential further concessions by the developing country Member.
Proposal 20 - Article XXXVI.6 of GATT; Declaration on the Contribution of the WTO to
Achieving Greater Coherence in Global Economic Policymaking
In furtherance of the objectives of Article XXXVI.6 of GATT 1994, Members shall cooperate with
international lending or development agencies so that least developed country Members are not
subjected to conditionalities on loans, grants and official development assistance that are
inconsistent with their rights under the WTO Agreements.
Proposal 21 - Decision on Measures in Favour of Least Developed Countries
Recognizing that least developed country Members could be affected by changes in the trading
environment leading to loss of competitiveness, Members granting preferences to least developed
country Members shall endeavour to:
a)
provide, as appropriate, adjustment support measures in the trade, financial
and technological fields to mitigate adverse effects on the export earnings of the least
developed country Members so as to enable them to cope with increased global
competition; and
b)
continue providing and, where necessary and to the extent possible, increase
targeted assistance, including through Aid for Trade, to enable least developed
country Members, to diversify their economies and exports, add value to their natural
resources and develop competitiveness.
Future Work
Recognizing that some S&D proposals remain to be addressed, we commit ourselves to an
expeditious consideration of these proposals, with a view to reporting to the General Council by
[].
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