Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

A new vice-chair, consultations to intensify on organisation of MC11
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 30 October 2017)
With less than seven weeks to go for the eleventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO, the Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Xavier Carim of South Africa, is holding intensified consultations and meetings on the organization of MC11 and the kind of outcome document members would like to see coming out of MC11.

US NO to Cotton-four, but China-India welcome proposal
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 17 October 2017)
The United States on Friday struck a body blow to the four poorest countries (C-4) - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad - in West Africa, rejecting their demand for a decision on substantial cuts in cotton subsidies by 70 per cent, at the upcoming World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting (MC11) in Buenos Aires, trade envoys told SUNS.

CSOs urge WTO Members to abandon expansionist agenda
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 10 October 2017)
Some 300 civil society organisations (CSOs) from more than 150 countries have raised the alarm that some members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are "pushing a dangerous and inappropriate new agenda" in the run-up to the WTO's eleventh ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires beginning on 10 December.

Developing nations and LDCs reject new E-com work programme
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 28 July 2017)
The developing and least-developed countries on Wednesday (26 July) rejected proposals from major developed countries and their allies in the developing world for a new work program for electronic commerce for addressing cross-cutting issues, trade envoys told SUNS.

Developing and LDCs to pay heavy price for Hamburg declaration
(D. Ravi Kanth, Hamburg, 11 July 2017)
The leaders of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries along with invited nations on Saturday unveiled a controversial declaration of compromises for "shaping the interconnected world" for which the developing and poorest countries will continue to pay a heavy price.

G90 demand fruitful outcome on S&DT at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 7 July 2017)
A large majority of developing and least-developed countries have demanded a "fruitful outcome" at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial conference in Buenos Aires in December on 25 revised agreement-specific proposals for strengthening special and differential flexibilities for promoting "inclusive and sustainable industrialization."

PSH must cover all DCs, not country-specific
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 21 March 2017)
The G33 farm coalition led by Indonesia has called for a permanent solution for public stockholding programs to address the concerns of all developing countries, instead of any one country-specific solution, at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting (MC11) in Buenos Aires later this year, trade envoys told SUNS.

South stress on public stockholding, SSM, S&D, development
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 27 February 2017)
Many developing countries stressed the importance of outcomes, amongst others, on the issues of public stockholding for food security purposes and on the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) at MC11 in Buenos Aires later this year.

LDCs table proposal on fisheries subsidies disciplines
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 26 January 2017)
An informal open-ended meeting of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules on Tuesday (24 January) held an initial discussion on a new submission by the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), proposing some elements for discussion on new disciplines on fisheries subsidies.