Trade and development

In the Committee on Trade and Development, key themes were duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access for least-developed countries (LDCs) and the participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system. The Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi reaffirmed ministers’ commitment to addressing the “marginalization” of LDCs in international trade. Ministers also took decisions of specific benefit to LDCs, including enhanced preferential rules of origin and preferential treatment for LDC services providers. The Committee agreed that the WTO Secretariat should update its report on the implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in WTO agreements and decisions.