Description
The
debate over the 'development dimension' of multilateral trade rules
long predates the establishment of the WTO. Indeed most of the texts
that form the basis of the multilateral trading system (MTS) are ripe
with language about making trade responsive to the needs of development.
Many Members, however, feel deep concern and dissatisfaction about the
way in which the system actually deals with membership at various levels
of development.
In
this context, the Doha Agenda calls for the review of all existing special
and differential treatment provisions "with a view to strengthening
them and making them more precise, effective and operational."
The Committee on Trade and Development was instructed: (i) to identify
those special and differential treatment provisions that are already
mandatory in nature and those that are nonbinding in character, to consider
the legal and practical implications for developed and developing Members
of converting special and differential treatment measures into mandatory
provisions, to identify those that Members consider should be made mandatory;
(ii) to examine additional ways in which special and differential treatment
provisions can be made more effective, to consider ways, including improved
information flows, in which developing countries, in particular the
least-developed countries, may be assisted to make best use of special
and differential treatment provisions, and (iii) to consider, in the
context of the work programme …how special and differential treatment
may be incorporated into the architecture of WTO rules." (Paragraph
12 of the Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns)
ICTSD
is exploring innovative sustainable development approaches to S&DT
with a view to promoting convergence in the current negotiations at
the WTO.
