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Trade and development

The WTO Agreements recognize the link between trade and development. More than two thirds of WTO Members are developing countries.

At the Doha Ministerial Conference, in November 2001, Trade Ministers launched the Doha Development Agenda. With this Agenda, WTO Members have placed development issues and the interests of developing countries  at the heart of the WTO’s work.

In the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration the central importance of the development dimension of the Doha Work Programme was emphasized and there was a recommitment to making it a meaningful reality. At the same time, the Aid for Trade Initiative was launched, designed to help developing countries build supply-side capacity in order to expand trade.

See also:
> Building trade capacity
> Work on the special and differential provisions
> Negotiations, implementation and development: the Doha agenda
> Aid for Trade

See also:
> International Trade Centre (opens in new window) — Trade promotion for developing countries

> ITC Market access map (opens in new window)

> ITC Forum (opens in new window) — Magazine of the International Trade Centre

> Development Gateway (opens in new window) — The Development Gateway helps
communities, organizations, and individuals build partnerships, share ideas, and work together to reduce poverty.

> WTO and Millennium Development Goals

News  back to top

Introduction to the WTO and developing countries back to top

• Definitions of “developing countries” and “least-developed countries” in the WTO.
   
• Developing countries — overview
  Links to the WTO guide “Understanding the WTO”.

WTO bodies  back to top

WTO work related to trade and development takes place mostly in the Committee on Trade and Development and the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries. Since the launching of the Doha Round in November 2001, trade and development issues related to special and differential treatment are being negotiated in the CTD meeting in Special Session. Other bodies dealing with development issues and established at the Doha Ministerial Conference include the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance, and the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology. At Doha Ministers also launched the Work Programme on Small Economies.

Other WTO bodies also consider trade and development issues.

In addition, a number of WTO activities focus on developing countries in the context of building trade capacity.

Work on Special and Differential Treatment Provisions back to top

Several provisions in the WTO Agreements relate specifically to developing and least-developed countries. Certain of these provisions are referred to as “special and differential treatment” provisions in favor of developing countries.

Ministers in Doha, in the Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns mandated the Committee on Trade and Development to identify which Special and Differential Provisions are mandatory, and to consider the implications of making mandatory those which are currently non-binding. In addition, the Committee is to consider ways in which developing countries, particularly the LDCs, may be assisted to make best use of special and differential treatment.

Work in the CTD back to top

The CTD meets regularly in different modes to address specific development issues, both as part of the WTO's regular work and as part of the Doha negotiations:

• CTD in regular session
  • CTD Special Session on Special and Differential Treatment Provisions
  • CTD Dedicated Session on Small Economies

The CTD also has a subsidiary body to deal specifically with matters concerning the LDCs

• Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries

Additionally, two WTO Working Groups were created during the Doha Ministerial Conference in November 2001:

• Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology
  
• Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance

Building trade capacity back to top

Describes the efforts made by WTO to meet the special needs of developing countries.

• Main page

• Aid for Trade

• Technical assistance and training

• Enhanced Integrated Framework

• Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP)

Events on trade and development back to top

The WTO regularly organizes a number of special events relating to issues of particular importance to developing countries each year. This includes the WTO Public Forum 2006.

Other developmental issues in the WTO back to top

As part of its activities on trade and development, the WTO also participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework for LDCs. At the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, the WTO also launched the Aid for Trade initiative aimed at assisting developing countries to build capacity to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the multilateral trading system.

Links back to top