LDC Positions

LDC common position on the Hong Kong agenda

The ministers responsible for trade in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) met in Livingstone, Zambia, in June 2005 to agree on a common position ahead of the Sixth World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Hong Kong. They adopted a declaration calling for, among other things:
• Binding commitment on duty-free and quota free market access for all products from LDCs
• Modalities to address the erosion of preferences enjoyed by LDCs
• Effective trade capacity building to address supply side constraints faced by LDCs
• ‘Aid for Trade’ to strengthen supply-side and infrastructure capacity of LDCs
• Full debt cancellation for LDCs
• Special consideration of small island, landlocked and vulnerable economies in working towards their WTO commitments
Read the full declaration.

‘African Four’ proposal on cotton

Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali (all African LDCs) are calling for:
• Export subsidies on cotton to be eliminated totally by the end of this year
• 80% of trade distorting domestic support to be scrapped by the end of 2006, with 10% each in 2007 and 2008, leaving total elimination by 1 January 2009
• Disciplines to ensure only authorized domestic supports remain
• Substantial improvements in market access, with duty-free and quota-free access for cotton and cotton products from least-developed countries
• An emergency fund to help deal with depressed international prices; and technical and financial assistance for the cotton sector in Africa.
For more information, click here.