Development
Committee Welcomes MC12 Decision on E-commerce Work Programme
WTO members welcomed at a meeting of the Committee on Trade and
Development on 20 June the decision taken by the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12)
to reinvigorate activities under the Work Programme on
E-Commerce, with the aim of increasing the participation of developing countries
and least-developed countries (LDCs) in digital trade. The Committee also received
updates on initiatives to increase capacity-building training activities in these
countries and on the preferential treatment extended to LDC exports.
WTO members
expressed their readiness to reinvigorate the development aspect of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, as
instructed in the decision that ministers adopted at MC12
on 17 June. The decision also extends the current practice of not imposing customs
duties on electronic transmissions until the 13th Ministerial Conference.(1)
WTO members
continued discussing a paper entitled “Global
Electronic Commerce for Inclusive Development” tabled by India and
South Africa in November 2021. The need to intensify discussions on ways of boosting
the participation of developing countries in digital trade was emphasized by many
members. India shared its experiences in creating a public digital infrastructure
and invited other members to follow suit.More information
on the paper can be found here.
The WTO's
Institute for Training
and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) presented its 2022 WTO Technical
Assistance Annual Report, outlining how the WTO Secretariat delivered training activities
to developing countries, LDCs and observer governments in 2021 despite the constraints
posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beneficiaries
were able to improve their understanding of WTO activities, the report notes, and
to play a more active role in the multilateral trading system. The number of women
and government officials from LDCs taking part in training activities bounced back
after a decline caused by the pandemic. The report can be downloaded here.
In addition,
after a year with almost no face-to-face activities, ITTC said it was able to hold
in early June the first in-person training
course for government officials from developing countries and LDCs since the onset
of the pandemic in 2020.
India
said that it is providing duty-free access to LDC exports for 94.2 per cent of its
tariff lines. India is the fourth most important destination for LDC exports, it
added.
China
noted that it would continue to work for the early entry into force of its improved
duty-free treatment for 98 per cent of its tariff lines for LDC products, as announced
in December 2021.
WTO members
took note of the notification by Seychelles of its
accession to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) at
the Committee's dedicated session on regional trade agreements, which was also held
on 20 June.
The Development
Committee chair, Ambassador Usha Chandnee
Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius, informed members of her
intention to consult with them on how to make progress on the work of the Committee.
This includes fully implementing the Committee's mandate to act
as the focal point for the WTO's development work. It also includes implementing
a “Monitoring Mechanism” to
centralize, within the WTO, the analysis and review of the use of special and differential
provisions for developing countries. Detailed information on the work of the Committee
is available here.
1WTO members will hold consultations
in the WTO's General Council to decide on the date and venue of the 13th Ministerial
Conference.