WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

5 October 2015

(15-5180) Page: 1/68

Sub-Committee on Least Developed Countries

MARKET ACCESS FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OF EXPORT INTEREST TO LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: A WTO@20 RETROSPECTIVE

NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 5

2 LDCS' TRADE PROFILE ...... 6 2.1 Trends in Goods and Commercial Services ...... 6 2.2 Merchandise Trade Developments ...... 11 2.2.1 Commodity price movements ...... 11 2.2.2 Trends in product composition ...... 13 2.2.3 Geographic diversification of trade ...... 17 2.2.4 Major export markets for LDCs by product group ...... 17 2.2.5 Differentiation by export specialization ...... 20 2.2.6 Merchandise trade balance ...... 23 2.3 LDCs' Trade in Services 1995-2013 ...... 26 2.3.1 Direction of trade ...... 33 2.3.2 Services exports by GATS modes of supply ...... 34 2.4 Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS)...... 35

3 TRENDS IN MARKET ACCESS FOR PRODUCTS OF EXPORT INTEREST TO LDCS ...... 36 3.1 Market Access in Developed Economies ...... 36 3.2 Market Access in Developing Economies ...... 43

4 RECENT INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE MARKET ACCESS FOR LDCS ...... 49

5 CONCLUSION ...... 50

ANNEX ...... 52

1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 2 -

List of Tables Table 1: Trends in LDC exports of goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 ...... 6 Table 2: LDCs and world trade in goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 ...... 8 Table 3: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995-2014/15 ...... 12 Table 4: LDCs' top 20 export products in terms of increase in world market share, 1995- 2014 ...... 16 Table 5: Product composition of LDC exports by destination, 1995-2014 ...... 18 Table 6: LDCs' top ten export markets, 1995 and 2013 ...... 20 Table 7: LDC merchandise trade by export specialization, 1995-2014 ...... 21 Table 8: Product composition of African LDC exports, 1995-2014 ...... 22 Table 9: Product composition of Asian LDC exports, 1995-2014 ...... 22 Table 10: Coverage ratios of merchandise trade of the LDCs, 1995-2014 ...... 23 Table 11: LDCs' merchandise trade balance by product groups, 1995-2014 ...... 24 Table 12: LDC commercial services exports by category, 1995-2013 ...... 27 Table 13: Average tariffs levied by developed countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 1996-2014 ...... 39 Table 14: GSP tariff treatment of LDC exports in selected developed markets, 2013 ...... 40 Table 15: LDC exports in selected developed markets, 2013 ...... 42 Table 16: Average tariffs levied by selected developing countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 2001-2013 (excluding oil) ...... 44 Table 17: Tariff treatment of LDC exports in selected developing markets, 2013 ...... 46

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 3 -

List of Charts Chart 1: Evolution of LDC exports of goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 ...... 6 Chart 2: Development in merchandise trade volume of LDCs and developing economies ...... 7 Chart 3: LDCs' shares in world exports, 1995-2013...... 7 Chart 4: Concentration indices (Herfindahl-Hirschmann) of merchandise exports of selected regions, 1995-2013 ...... 9 Chart 5: Share of top three LDC products in their total merchandise exports, 1995 and 2014 ...... 10 Chart 6: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995-2014 ...... 11 Chart 7: Evolution of merchandise export structure of LDCs, 1995 and 2014 ...... 13 Chart 8: Composition of LDC merchandise exports by major product group, 1995, 2000 and 2014 ...... 14 Chart 9: Top ten products of LDC merchandise exports, 1995 and 2014 ...... 15 Chart 10: LDC merchandise exports by destination, 1995 and 2014 ...... 17 Chart 11: Geographical concentration of LDC exports: Share of top ten partners in total exports, by major product group, 1995 and 2013 ...... 19 Chart 12: Trade balance of goods (BOP), as a percentage of GDP, 1995 and 2013 ...... 25 Chart 13: Trade in commercial services by LDC region, 1995-2013 ...... 26 Chart 14: Exports and imports of commercial services by leading LDCs, 1995 and 2013 ...... 28 Chart 15: Structure of LDCs' exports of commercial services, 1995 and 2013 ...... 28 Chart 16: Travel exports of selected leading LDC travel exporters, 1995 and 2013 ...... 29 Chart 17: LDCs' travel exports and estimated international tourist arrivals to LDCs, 1995- 2013 ...... 29 Chart 18: Estimated structure of LDC transport exports by mode of transport, 1995 and 2012 ...... 30 Chart 19: Leading LDC exporters and importers of transport, 1995 and 2013 ...... 31 Chart 20: Growth of LDC exports by main service sector, 1995-2013 ...... 31 Chart 21: Leading LDC exporters of communications services, 1995 and 2013 ...... 32 Chart 22: European Union (28) – Imports of services from LDCs, 2006-2012...... 33 Chart 23: LDCs: Estimated exports of commercial services by mode of supply (BOP basis), 2012 ...... 34 Chart 24: Zambia: Inward FATS sales by economic activity and partner country, 2012 ...... 35 Chart 25: Share of duty-free imports by developed economies originating from LDCs and comparison with total developing countries, 1996-2014 ...... 36 Chart 26: Share of export value imported duty free by developed economies originating for individual LDCs, 1996-2014 ...... 38 Chart 27: Average tariffs levied by selected developing countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 2001-2013 (excluding oil) ...... 43

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 4 -

List of Annex Tables Annex Table 1: Merchandise exports and imports of LDCs by selected country grouping, 2014 ...... 52 Annex Table 2: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995–2015, Q2 ...... 54 Annex Table 3: Leading merchandise exports of LDCs in 2014a ...... 56 Annex Table 4: Imports from LDCs by major markets and product groups, 1995-2014 ...... 60 Annex Table 5: Coverage ratios of imports by exports of the LDCs, 1995-2014 ...... 63 Annex Table 6: Exports of commercial services of the LDCs by category, 1995 and 2013...... 65 Annex Table 7: Major multilateral non-reciprocal LDC preference schemes undertaken by Membersa ...... 66 Annex Table 8: Notification of preferences in favour of LDC services and service suppliers ...... 68

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 5 -

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1. This Note prepared by the Secretariat responds to paragraph 8 of the WTO Work Programme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which mandates an annual review of market access for products originating from LDCs (WT/COMTD/LDC/11/Rev.1). It builds on previous Secretariat studies by updating the information on trends in LDCs' trade and market access conditions. In light of the 20th Anniversary of the WTO, this year's edition provides an historical perspective on the developments of LDC trade since the establishment of the WTO in 1995.

1.2. The Note is divided into four main parts, in addition to the introduction. Chapter 2, on trade profile, provides a description of the recent trends of LDCs' trade flows, both in goods and commercial services. It includes an analysis of LDC exports by main products and market destinations and specific information on trade in services. Chapter 3 is devoted to market access conditions facing LDC exports. Chapter 4 covers recent initiatives to improve market access for LDCs' products. A concluding section summarizes the findings of the Note, while a series of annex tables provide Members with additional background information and references. The Note does not attempt to be comprehensive in covering all aspects that condition market access for LDCs' products. It should therefore be read in conjunction with previous Secretariat notes prepared on this topic, to gauge the different factors that determine market access for LDCs.

1.3. The statistical coverage of LDCs is characterized by its incompleteness, and often not the most up-to-date, despite improvements in the production of national data. The Secretariat has been using reported national figures whenever available; however, in many instances, it is still necessary to rely on mirror statistics i.e. data reported by LDCs' trading partners. The disadvantage of using mirror data is that it does not allow taking into consideration intra-trade among the LDCs, as well as trade with non-reporting developing economies.

1.4. Samoa graduated from LDC status as of the beginning of 2014, thus will not be taken into account anymore starting with this year's edition. Due to non-availability of national data, South Sudan is not covered adequately in this Note.

1.5. Data based on balance of payments (the main source of information for trade in services) are only available for up to reference year 2013 for this edition - due to methodological changes (fifth to sixth edition of the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BPM)). To being able to cover a long-term time series back to 1995, data on trade in services have been presented according to BPM 5-methodology in this version. Market access data started to become available in 1996, following the establishment of what is now known as the IDB database. Also some other presentations might still refer to 2013 as most recent reference year instead of 2014 – due to data availability issues.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 6 -

2 LDCS' TRADE PROFILE

2.1 Trends in Goods and Commercial Services

2.1. Over the 1995-2013-period, LDC exports of goods and services grew by an annual average of 12.6%, markedly higher than the 11.3% average for other developing economies. The rapid increase in the total value of goods and services exported by LDCs during the 2000s came to an abrupt halt in 2008, in the wake of the global financial crisis.

2.2. The growth of merchandise exports had accelerated since 2003, largely due to the rise in oil and commodity prices, while the exports of services rose more markedly after 2006, a change that could be attributed to the dynamism of tourism and the higher prices of transport services. After the crisis, exports went back to distinctly positive growth rates and grew 27.5% in 2010 and returned to pre-crisis levels in 2011. After this year, the growth in the total value of LDCs' exports was constrained by unfavourable developments in the price of commodities. In 2013, the most recent year available based on comparable balance-of-payments (BOP) data , LDC exports increased by 5.2% reaching US$250 billion, while LDC imports grew by 6.6% reaching US$310.6 billion, resulting in an overall trade deficit of US$60.6 billion in 2013. In 1995, the trade deficit stood at US$14 billion, thus had increased by more than four times during this period - in nominal terms.

Chart 1: Evolution of LDC exports of goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 (BOP, BPM5) (Index, 1995=100)

Source: WTO Secretariat.

Table 1: Trends in LDC exports of goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 (BOP, BPM5) (Billion dollars and percentage)

Values ($bn) Annual rate of growth (%) 1995 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1995-2013 Total goods and commercial services 29.5 250.0 -23.9 27.5 23.0 -1.6 5.2 12.6 Total goods 24.5 218.3 -26.8 28.9 23.4 -2.7 4.1 12.9 Fuels and Mining 8.0 127.0 -32.9 28.4 25.1 -1.6 1.6 16.6 Other goods 16.5 91.3 -16.1 29.6 21.1 -4.3 7.7 10.0 Commercial services 5.0 31.7 7.1 16.9 19.4 8.0 13.4 10.8

Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 7 -

2.3. Prices for primary commodities steadily increased until the crisis-induced drop in 2009, recovered in the 2010-2012 period, and started to drop again during 2013 (-2.6%) and 2014 (-6.9%). Energy prices (gas/petroleum/coal) fell more than any other commodity prices at that time. Yet, while the trade volume of other developing economies decreased by 8% during the crisis, LDC trade still showed positive growth of 4% in volume terms in 2009.

2.4. In volume terms, LDC merchandise exports grew by 5.9% in 2014, while their imports expanded by 9.4%. In comparison to 2000, export volume more than doubled while import volume almost tripled (see Chart 2).

Chart 2: Development in merchandise trade volume of LDCs and developing economies (Indices, 2000=100)

Source: WTO Secretariat. LDCs' data are computed based on deflators sourced from UNCTAD.

2.5. Regarding LDCs' integration in global trade, chart 3 shows that LDCs were able to increase their shares in world exports of goods and commercial services from 0.5% in 1995 to 1.1% in 2013. During the crisis in 2009, their export market share decreased by 0.05 percentage points, but they more than compensated this loss in the following year. This general trend was mainly influenced by merchandise exports. LDCs' world market share of exports of commercial services stayed more or less stable at 0.4% until 2008, and thereafter started to increase - also during the crisis - registering 0.7% in 2013. Table 2 provides more detail regarding LDCs performance in trade over the last twenty years as compared to world trade. For example, it shows that LDCs' total trade in goods and services increased by an annual average of 12.5% between 1995 and 2013, thereby outperforming world trade which grew by 7.5% on average.

Chart 3: LDCs' shares in world exports, 1995-2013 (BOP, BPM5) (Percentage shares)

Source: WTO Secretariat.

Table 2: LDCs and world trade in goods and commercial services, 1995-2013 (BOP, BPM5) (Billion dollars and percentage) Value ($bn) Annual percentage change 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1995-2013 Total trade in goods and commercial services a World 6231 7885 12782 14673 17064 19608 15663 18663 22090 22319 22898 7.5 LDC 73 94 204 243 308 418 350 413 508 529 561 12.0 Share in world 0.59 0.59 0.80 0.83 0.90 1.07 1.12 1.11 1.15 1.19 1.23 ... Total trade in goods a World 5047 6408 10331 11917 13766 15867 12268 14942 17914 18034 18385 7.4 LDC 57 75 168 202 254 345 280 336 414 429 455 12.3 Share in world 0.56 0.58 0.81 0.85 0.92 1.09 1.14 1.12 1.16 1.19 1.24 ...

Total trade in commercial services a WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 World 1184 1478 2450 2756 3298 3741 3394 3721 4176 4285 4513 7.7 LDC 16 19 35 41 54 73 70 77 94 100 105 10.9 Share in world 0.69 0.64 0.73 0.75 0.83 0.99 1.04 1.05 1.15 1.18 1.18 ... - 8 Goods exports

World 5103 6406 10349 11972 13854 15934 12375 15085 18087 18204 18609 7.5 LDC 25 36 85 105 134 185 136 175 216 210 218 12.9 Share in world 0.48 0.56 0.82 0.88 0.96 1.16 1.10 1.16 1.19 1.15 1.17 ... Commercial services exports

World 1179 1491 2516 2845 3421 3847 3489 3828 4295 4397 4644 7.9 LDC 5 6 9 11 14 17 19 22 26 28 32 10.8 Share in world 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.37 0.40 0.45 0.53 0.57 0.60 0.64 0.68 ... Goods imports World 4991 6409 10313 11862 13679 15800 12162 14800 17742 17863 18161 7.4 LDC 32 39 83 96 120 160 145 161 198 219 237 11.7 Share in world 0.64 0.61 0.81 0.81 0.88 1.01 1.19 1.09 1.12 1.23 1.31 ... Commercial services imports World 1189 1464 2384 2666 3174 3635 3300 3613 4056 4174 4381 7.5 LDC 11 13 26 30 40 55 51 55 68 72 74 10.9 Share in world 0.96 0.90 1.10 1.13 1.26 1.52 1.55 1.52 1.69 1.72 1.68 ... a World total trade is calculated as the average of world exports and imports, according to the BOP presentation (excluding Mode 3 for trade in services) (BPM 5). Total LDC trade in this table is approximated as the sum of their exports and imports. Total trade shares are calculated in relation to the corresponding world exports plus imports. Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 9 -

2.6. Export concentration has been a structural characteristic of LDC economies. Due to a lower degree of development of their productive sectors, LDCs are heavily dependent on a few products where they enjoy some degree of comparative advantage (primary commodities as far as trade in goods is concerned, and tourism for services exporters). Even when LDCs were able to diversify into manufacturing, the range of exported products was usually limited to a few labour-intensive industries, mostly in clothing. Moreover, the rise in the international price of commodities between 2003 and 2008 increased the weight of primary exports for most LDC exporters, leading to higher dependency. Accordingly, natural resources poor LDCs in Asia showed the lowest concentration index within this group of economies. The Herfindahl-Hirschmann index (see chart 4) confirms this concentration.

Chart 4: Concentration indices (Herfindahl-Hirschmann) of merchandise exports of selected regions, 1995-2013 (Indices)

"The Herfindahl-Hirschmann index shows the degree of market concentration. Its (normalized) values range from 0 to 1 (maximum concentration). An index value that is close to 1 indicates a very concentrated market, while a value closer to 0 demonstrates a homogeneous market between the exporters or importers." Source: UNCTAD database.

2.7. On average, almost 70% of total merchandise exports depended only on three main products in 2014 (composition varies from LDC to LDC). For instance, for nine LDCs, the top three products accounted for more than 95% of their export receipts, illustrating the vulnerability of these economies to fluctuations in international trade. In 1995, the situation was markedly different, with only around 40% of LDCs' exports that were attributable to the top three products. Product concentration has thus distinctly increased.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 10 -

Chart 5: Share of top three LDC products in their total merchandise exports, 1995 and 2014 (Percentage shares)

Note: Products are measured at the 2-digit level of the Harmonized System (HS). Source: UN Comtrade (reported data complemented by mirror data for missing).

2.8. Regarding services, the export dependence is generally lower, even though some LDCs - such as Afghanistan and Vanuatu - also depend on services for a sizeable share of their total export receipts. Travel, a close proxy of tourism receipts, is the dominant sector, especially for small islands where it represents the main source of export revenues.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 11 -

2.2 Merchandise Trade Developments

2.2.1 Commodity price movements

2.9. Regarding the price developments of primary commodities over the 1995 to 2014 period, energy prices clearly showed the steepest increase; in 2014, energy prices were more than five times above the level of 1995. A first uncoupling of the prices for energy from the prices of the other categories of primary commodities happened in 2000, with some stabilizing years to follow. In 2003, energy prices continued to grow markedly again, reaching a peak in 2008. With the economic crisis of 2009 and the corresponding decline in demand, energy prices declined by 37% in comparison to 2008, but still were more than three times above the level of 1995. A second peak was reached in 2012, with a level of almost six times above that of 1995; while the most recent years were characterized by constantly decreasing prices – in 2014 decreasing by 8% against the preceding year.

2.10. Minerals and non-ferrous metals were second-in-line in terms of price increases during the 1995 to 2014 period. They nearly followed the price developments for energy, but on a lower scale. In 2014 (-10% against 2013), their prices were more than two times higher than in 1995.

2.11. The international prices for food and beverage products started accelerating in 2006 – six years after the first large increase of prices of extractive commodities (oil and minerals). Though prices of this product group declined during the crisis, they were still higher in 2009 than in 2007. In 2014, food and beverage prices were 1.6 times above their 1995 levels (-2% against 2013).

2.12. The average price of non-food agricultural commodities and manufactures increased slowly during the 2000s. While these products did not follow the 2008 bubble, they nevertheless registered a decrease in prices in 2009, which dragged them almost back to their 2000 values. The most recent years were characterized by quite stable prizes - showing levels of around 15 to 30% (agricultural raw materials) and 15 to 20% (manufactured products) above 1995. Raw materials increased by 2% in 2014, manufactured products stayed at around the level of 2013.

Chart 6: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995-2014 (Indices, 1995=100)

600

500

400

300

200

100

0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Food and beverages Agricultural raw materials Minerals and non‐ferrous metals (excluding crude petroleum) Energy Memo item: Manufacture Unit Value

Source: WTO Secretariat and World Bank.

Table 3: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995-2014/15 (Indices, 1995=100)

1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 Q-o-Q 2015

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2

Food and beverages 100 77 96 106 122 150 131 147 175 168 168 164 169 174 161 153 144 139

Agricultural raw materials 100 81 87 94 99 98 82 108 133 116 118 121 123 123 120 117 113 110

Minerals and non-ferrous metals 100 82 139 217 255 235 190 281 319 265 254 228 237 230 231 214 191 188 (excluding crude petroleum) Total of above 100 79 108 132 151 162 137 173 204 183 181 174 180 181 173 164 153 149

Energy 100 156 292 348 385 540 341 430 586 594 573 525 569 575 541 416 308 338

All primary commodities 100 116 196 236 264 337 236 298 384 374 364 339 361 364 345 286 233 242 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

Memo item: Manufacture Unit Value 100 87 95 98 104 112 105 109 119 117 115 116 … … … … … … - 12 Note: Period averages calculated from IMF indices based on dollar prices. The data for manufacture corresponds to unit values. The quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted. Source: WTO Secretariat and World Bank.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 13 -

2.13. In 2014, the value of LDCs' merchandise exports amounted to US$207.2 billion, after a decrease of 2.1% against the preceding year. LDCs, as a group, thus, underperformed other developing economies (excluding LDCs) with an export growth of 0.2% in 2014. This is mostly related to the distinct drops in fuel prices – a commodity that is of higher importance for the LDCs than for the other developing economies. This average hides heterogeneous situations at individual country level (see Annex 1 for detailed country data): six LDCs registered double-digit decline in their exports (ranging from -40% to -10%) while, at the other end, fifteen others achieved double-digit growth (ranging from 11% to 132%). LDC imports expanded by 5.4% to US$265.7 billion leading to an even higher trade deficit than in 2013 (deficit of US$58.9 billion in 2014 versus US$40.5 billion in 2013).

2.2.2 Trends in product composition

2.14. Chart 7 shows the evolution in the commodity mix of the LDCs between 1995 and 2014. The pattern of demand from emerging economies and rising commodity prices, led to a shrinking share of manufactured products in total exports of LDCs from 32% in 1995 to 28% in 2014. The share of fuels and mining products, on the other hand, increased from 34% in 1995 to 56% in 2014.2 During the same period, exports of agricultural products lost ground, from 34% in 1995 down to 12% in 2014. Overall, the share of primary commodities in LDCs' merchandise exports stayed quite stable between 1995 (68%) and 2014 (67%).

Chart 7: Evolution of merchandise export structure of LDCs, 1995 and 2014 (Percentage shares)

Source: 1995: UN Comtrade database (mirror data), 2014: WTO Secretariat.

2 These shares are derived from the WTO network of LDCs by product and destination compiled according to the United Nations Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). According to this classification, diamonds and non-monetary gold are not part of mineral products, the difference of the HS in use at the WTO. As a result, the shares of fuels and mining product in total LDCs' exports derived from the LDC network differ from the shares of exporters of fuels and mining products discussed elsewhere in this report.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 14 -

2.15. Exports of textile and clothing products dominated LDCs' manufacture exports, both in 2014 (64% share in total exports of manufactures) and 1995 (51% share) – with increasing importance over the years. However, the share of textiles and clothing in total exports of LDCs has not changed much over the years due to strong growth in the exports of extractive resources.

2.16. Between 1995 and 2014, "fuels and mining products" was the product group with the highest average annual growth rate: 15% increase per year (see chart 8). "Machinery and transport equipment" and "clothing" followed with 14% and 13%, respectively. The share of "fuels and mining products" in LDCs' total merchandise exports increased from 32% in 1995 to 56% in 2014. The second-highest share was reached by "clothing" exports – with a share of 16% in 2014 (up from 13% in 1995). The product group that lost most in terms of share was "food" (down to an 9% share in 2014, from 22% in 1995), but also "agricultural raw materials" and "processed manufactures" lost distinctly in terms of shares. As mentioned, this increase in the weight of extractive commodities was mainly due to price effects.

Chart 8: Composition of LDC merchandise exports by major product group, 1995, 2000 and 2014 (Percentage)

Note: Data may include re‑exports. In addition to minor differences in composition, data for textiles and clothing here differ from (HS 61 and 62) data in Table 4 and Annex Table 3, mainly due to compilation methods, which in the case of Table 4 and Annex Table 3 are strictly based on imports of trading partners of LDCs. Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 15 -

2.17. Chart 9 shows the evolution of the top ten products – and their respective shares - exported by LDCs between 1995 and 2014. While petroleum products (HS 2709 and 2710) clearly dominated exports already in 1995 with a share of 23% in 1995, this share even increased up to 45% of total exports in 2014. Also the share of clothing products increased from 7% in 1995 up to 11% in 2014. The importance of diamonds for LDCs' exports dropped from a share of 9% in 1995 (2nd-most-important product after petroleum oils in 1995) down to only 0.8% in 2014; while other precious/semi-precious stones reached a share of 6% in 2014 (up from 0.4% in 1995). Copper was still in the top ten products in 2014, but only with half the share (2%) of that in 1995 (4%). Coffee and cotton both disappeared from the top ten (top three and top four product in 1995) between 1995 and 2014, dropping from shares of 7% and 4% in 1995 down to 1% and 0.5% in 2014, respectively; for coffee this was the case even in the view of increased prices (+22% against 1995), while cotton prices decreased (-16%).

Chart 9: Top ten products of LDC merchandise exports, 1995 and 2014 (Percentage shares with corresponding HS codes)

Source: UN Comtrade database (mirror data).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 16 -

2.18. Table 4 highlights the 20 top products (among LDCs' main 40 export products) for which LDCs were able to maximize their world market shares between 1995 and 2014. The top product in this listing was "cobalt ores and concentrates" where LDCs increased their market share by 52.7 percentage points up to almost 95% of world market share in 2014. However, this product represented only a share of 0.3% in LDCs total exports in 2014 (up from 0.1% in 1995). The product with the second-highest increase in terms of market share were 'mounted precious or semi-precious stones (excluding diamonds)' which gained almost 37 percentage points in terms of market share (up to 40.8% in 2014). LDCs were also in position to extend their world market share for copper between 1995 and 2014, 28 percentage points – even though this product had dropped from top 5 product (1995) to top 7 product (2014) as shown by chart 8.

Table 4: LDCs' top 20 export products in terms of increase in world market share, 1995-2014 (Million dollars and percentages) Share in Share in Increase Market Value Value LDC LDC HS in market share Commodity description 1995 2014 exports exports code share 2014 ($mn) ($mn) 1995, 2014 (%points) (%) (%) (%) 2605 Cobalt ores and concentrates 16.9 620.8 +52.7 94.6 0.1 0.3 7103 Mounted precious or semi- 94.7 13288.9 +36.8 40.8 0.4 6.5 precious stones, not diamond 7402 Unrefined copper, copper 1.5 2115.8 +28.4 28.4 0.0 1.0 anodes, electrolytic refinin 1207 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 185.3 1708.6 +18.6 37.9 0.8 0.8 nes 8105 Cobalt mattes, etc, articles, 319.4 895.7 +17.8 38.4 1.4 0.4 waste or scrap 6203 Mens or boys suits, jackets, 311.7 6560.1 +15.1 16.7 1.3 3.2 trousers etc not knit 6109 T-shirts, singlets and other 347.9 6306.8 +14.7 18.7 1.5 3.1 vests, knit or crochet 6111 Babies garments, clothing 19.7 947.9 +13.2 14.2 0.1 0.5 accessories, knit or croche 4403 Wood in the rough or roughly 744.1 3766.1 +12.6 18.8 3.2 1.8 squared 6105 Mens, boys shirts, knit or 129.0 1099.8 +11.5 14.7 0.5 0.5 crochet 6205 Men's or boys' shirts 821.9 2754.5 +10.9 19.3 3.5 1.3 6110 Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, 282.1 6230.3 +10.7 12.0 1.2 3.0 etc, knit or crochet 6104 Womens, girls suit, dress, skirt, 35.4 2441.4 +9.8 10.4 0.2 1.2 etc, knit or croche 2401 Tobacco unmanufactured, 328.3 1569.0 +9.3 15.2 1.4 0.8 tobacco refuse 0713 Vegetables, leguminous dried, 211.2 1428.0 +9.0 17.4 0.9 0.7 shelled 6108 Womens, girls underwear, 76.1 1062.2 +8.6 10.3 0.3 0.5 nightwear, etc knit, crochet 6204 Womens, girls suits, jacket, 230.9 4207.3 +8.0 8.9 1.0 2.0 dress, skirt, etc, wove 2603 Copper ores and concentrates 9.1 2728.8 +5.3 5.5 0.0 1.3 6201 Mens, boys overcoats, capes, 167.6 733.4 +3.9 6.6 0.7 0.4 windjackets etc, woven 2716 Electrical energy 3.8 1029.7 +3.6 3.7 0.0 0.5

Note: Calculations based on the 40 products with the highest export values of LDCs. Source: UN Comtrade database (mirror data).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 17 -

2.2.3 Geographic diversification of trade

2.19. While in 1995, the majority of LDC exports were directed to developed economies (Europe and North America), and only 30% to developing economies, the situation has drastically changed during the last 20 years. In 2014, the majority of LDC exports (57%) were shipped to developing economies. The main reason for this change was the growing demand of China, which accounted for 23% of LDC exports in 2014 as compared to only 3% in 1995. Intra-LDC trade increased from 1% in 1995 to 5% in 2014, most of which took place within Africa. However, since intra-LDC trade is notoriously under-recorded, also due to informal cross-border trade, these numbers have to be seen as rough, lower-end estimates.

Chart 10: LDC merchandise exports by destination, 1995 and 2014 (Percentage shares)

Source: 1995: UN Comtrade database (mirror data), 2014: WTO Secretariat.

2.2.4 Major export markets for LDCs by product group

2.20. The product composition of LDC exports by destination confirms the general trend of increasing importance of the Asian market for LDCs, while the share of developed economies in LDCs' export is abating. Back in 1995, around half of the exports of agricultural products were destined for either Europe (45%) or North America (5%), and only 39% for Asia. In 2014, the situation had changed: 42% of the exports went to Asia and 23% to Africa. In the last nineteen years, exports of agricultural products to Africa and Asia grew on average by 13% and 6%, respectively and thereby contributed to the increase in the shares of these two regions as destination markets for agricultural products. Regarding fuels and mining products, 58% of LDC exports of fuels and mining products were transported to Asia in 2014; while back in 1995, Asia's share was still at 36% - at around the same size as the destination North America. In 1995, almost 90% of all manufacture exports of the LDCs went to developed economies (mostly Europe), while in 2014, this share had decreased to around 60%. Thus, developed economies still represent the biggest market for LDC exports in manufacturing. However, Asia's share is rising (up to 23% in 2014, from 9% in 1995) and overtook North America as the second most important destination for manufactured products.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 18 -

Table 5: Product composition of LDC exports by destination, 1995-2014 (Billion dollars and percentages) Value Share in LDC exports Annual % change 2014 1995 2000 2014 2013 2014 1995-2014 Agriculture World 24.4 100 100 100 11 1 6 Asia 10.2 39 30 42 11 5 6 Africa 5.7 6 16 23 12 1 13 Europe 5.4 45 37 22 7 6 2 Middle East 2.1 4 7 9 15 -5 11 North America 0.6 5 7 2 9 -7 2 CIS 0.3 0 0 1 45 8 28 South and Central America 0.1 1 1 0 -28 3 -1 Fuels and mining products World 115.4 100 100 100 -1 -6 15 Asia 66.9 36 46 58 -2 -3 18 Europe 22.9 19 16 20 9 -5 15 North America 9.3 36 25 8 -15 -30 6 Africa 5.9 3 4 5 -1 0 18 South and Central America 1.9 4 1 2 3 -4 10 Middle East 1.8 2 1 2 60 0 13 CIS 0.1 0 0 0 -9 8 69 Manufactures World 57.3 100 100 100 13 6 11 Europe 21.1 62 41 37 14 5 8 Asia 12.9 9 14 23 8 12 17 North America 11.3 24 35 20 11 1 10 Africa 6.5 4 6 11 11 -6 17 Middle East 1.1 0 1 2 11 8 25 CIS 0.6 0 1 1 107 -3 30 South and Central America 0.5 0 0 1 6 17 17

Source: UN Comtrade mirror data (1995), WTO Secretariat (2000->).

2.21. Chart 11 shows the shares of the top ten markets for products originating from LDCs, by major product groups. These percentage shares can be interpreted as an indicator for the geographical concentration of the exports of the LDCs. On total level (all types of goods), the concentration has slightly decreased, from 87% in 1995 to 85% in 2013, but can still be seen as "very high" – meaning that still almost 90% of all exports of the LDCs depend on only ten markets. For fuels and mining products, this concentration even increased between 1995 and 2013, from 90% to 92%, while for the two other product groups – agricultural products and manufactures - the dependency decreased (from 84% to 78% for agricultural products and from 94% to 86% for manufactures).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 19 -

Chart 11: Geographical concentration of LDC exports: Share of top ten partners in total exports, by major product group, 1995 and 2013 (Percentage shares)

Source: UN Comtrade (mirror data).

2.22. Table 6 lists the top ten markets by product groups for both 1995 and 2013. While in 1995, either the EU (all products, except fuels and mining) or the United States (fuels and mining products) were the most important destination for LDC exports, China took the lead in 2013 at total level, due to the fact that it moved to the first rank as importer of fuels and mining products from LDCs; in 1995, it was in fifth position. In 2013, China imported more fuels and mining products from the LDCs than the European Union, the United States and India altogether, reaching a share of 40% (up from 6% back in 1995). For the other two product categories, agricultural products and manufactures, the European Union maintained its top position in 2013, same as in 1995; but also for these products, China increased its importance as trading partner of LDCs against 1995.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 20 -

Table 6: LDCs' top ten export markets, 1995 and 2013 (Billion dollars and percentage shares)

Total trade Agricultural products Fuels and mining products Manufactures 1995 Value 1995 Value 1995 Value 1995 Value ($bn) ($bn) ($bn) ($bn) EU (28) 9.8 EU (28) 3.6 USA 2.8 EU (28) 4.6 USA 5.0 Japan 0.8 EU (28) 1.5 USA 1.8 Japan 1.6 Thailand 0.6 Japan 0.7 So. African 0.1 Customs Union Thailand 0.9 India 0.4 Korea, Rep. Of 0.6 India 0.1 China 0.9 USA 0.3 China 0.5 Hong Kong, 0.1 China Korea, Rep. Of 0.7 China 0.3 Singapore 0.3 Singapore 0.1 Singapore 0.7 Saudi Arabia 0.3 Thailand 0.3 Canada 0.1 India 0.7 Singapore 0.3 Brazil 0.3 China 0.1 Saudi Arabia 0.4 Chinese Taipei 0.2 Chinese Taipei 0.2 Japan 0.1 Chinese Taipei 0.4 Indonesia 0.2 Saudi Arabia 0.2 Thailand 0.0 Grand Totala 24.2 Grand Totala 8.2 Grand Totala 8.1 Grand Totala 7.6 Share of top 10: 87.2 % Share of top 10: 84.1 Share of top 10: 90.4 % Share of top 10: 93.8 % 2013 Value 2013 Value 2013 Value 2013 Value ($bn) ($bn) ($bn) ($bn) China 59.4 EU (28) 5.3 China 52.6 EU (28) 25.3 EU (28) 52.9 China 4.6 EU (28) 21.9 USA 10.0 USA 23.6 India 3.0 USA 12.7 China 2.1 India 14.3 Viet Nam 1.5 India 10.0 Japan 2.1 Thailand 8.4 Nigeria 1.5 Thailand 7.1 Canada 2.0 Japan 6.9 Saudi Arabia 1.4 Chinese Taipei 4.6 Congo 1.8 Taipei, Chinese 4.8 Thailand 0.9 Japan 4.0 Turkey 1.2 South Africa 4.7 Japan 0.8 South Africa 3.8 Korea, Rep. of 1.0 Korea, Rep. of 4.3 USA 0.7 Korea, Rep. of 3.0 India 0.8 Canada 4.0 Indonesia 0.5 Brazil 1.7 Côte d'Ivoire 0.7 Grand Totala 215.1 Grand Totala 25.9 Grand Totala 132.1 Grand Totala 55.2 Share of top 10: 85.2 % Share of top 10: 77.5 % Share of top 10: 91.9 % Share of top 10: 85.5 %

a "Grand Total" refers to sum of available reporters (importers). Source: UN Comtrade.

2.2.5 Differentiation by export specialization

2.23. LDCs are subject to heterogeneous characteristics – a fact that is once again confirmed by table 7. In the last 19 years, the LDCs that are exporters of fuels and mining products expanded their exports by an annual average of 13%, compared to the 12% increase for exporters of manufactures or the 8% of exporters of agricultural products. The weight of the African region in the LDC group increased during the period as most of the mineral exporters are located in Africa. Nevertheless, with the background of stagnant or decreasing fuel prices in recent years, exporters of manufactured products registered the highest annual growth (8%) in 2014, followed by exporters of agricultural products (5%), while exporters of fuels and mining products registered an overall decrease (-5%). LDC imports grew by an average of 12% per year between 1995 and 2014. Here again, since the import capacity is closely related to export performance, the imports of fuel and mineral exporters grew at a slightly higher pace over the period (13%) than those of exporters of manufactured (11%) and agricultural products (11%).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 21 -

Table 7: LDC merchandise trade by export specialization, 1995-2014 (Billion dollars and percentage)

Exports Imports

Value Share in LDCs' exports Annual Value Share in LDCs' imports Annual percentage percentage change change 2014 1995 2000 2014 2014 1995- 2014 1995 2000 2014 2014 1995- 2014 2014 LDCs 211.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 -1.5 12.2 265.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 5.4 11.4

Exporters of 144.2 55.6 60.4 68.3 -5.0 13.4 138.1 40.4 41.3 51.9 8.1 12.9 fuels and minerals Fuel 105.8 31.3 46.5 50.1 -7.2 15.0 80.7 18.2 23.6 30.3 11.5 14.5 exporters Exporters of 38.5 24.3 13.9 18.2 1.6 10.5 57.4 22.1 17.7 21.6 3.5 11.3 non-fuel minerals Manufacture 46.2 22.9 27.5 21.9 7.7 11.9 72.2 30.6 35.3 27.1 10.8 10.7 exporters Exporters of 17.7 17.2 9.3 8.4 5.4 8.0 53.1 20.5 19.2 20.0 5.2 11.3 agricultural products Diversified 2.9 4.2 2.6 1.4 5.4 5.8 7.5 4.7 4.0 2.8 0.9 8.5 and others African LDCs 140.7 64.8 57.6 66.6 -6.7 12.3 159.6 58.1 53.1 60.0 5.5 11.6

Fuel 82.2 19.1 30.5 38.9 -12.5 16.4 49.1 9.3 12.4 18.4 6.6 15.5 exporters Exporters of 35.8 23.0 13.0 17.0 0.7 10.4 54.1 20.4 16.5 20.3 3.2 11.4 non-fuel minerals Exporters of 16.6 15.6 8.6 7.9 5.5 8.2 43.5 18.5 15.9 16.3 8.7 10.7 agricultural products Diversified 2.9 4.2 2.6 1.4 5.4 5.8 7.4 4.7 4.0 2.8 0.9 8.5 and others Manufacture 3.1 2.8 2.9 1.5 10.6 8.4 5.5 5.1 4.4 2.1 0.1 6.2 exporters Asian LDCs 61.5 26.5 30.1 29.1 13.2 12.7 94.8 31.6 38.9 35.6 14.4 12.1

Manufacture 42.2 19.7 23.7 20.0 7.5 12.2 63.2 23.6 28.6 23.8 12.3 11.5 exporters Exporters of 15.6 4.0 4.8 7.4 32.1 15.8 18.6 4.3 5.9 7.0 43.3 14.4 fuels and minerals Exporters of 1.1 1.5 0.7 0.5 4.8 5.8 9.6 2.0 3.2 3.6 -8.1 15.1 agricultural products Diversified 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - - 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -14.3 3.7 and others Middle East 8.9 8.6 12.2 4.2 -2.6 8.0 16.6 6.6 7.7 6.2 -0.8 11.1 and Caribbean Yemen (fuel 8.0 8.1 11.3 3.8 -3.6 7.7 13.0 4.7 5.4 4.9 -2.1 11.7 exporter) Haiti 0.9 0.5 0.9 0.4 6.8 12.0 3.5 1.9 2.4 1.3 4.0 9.3

Memorandum Share in world exports Share in world imports items: World 18426.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.6 7.1 18641.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.5 7.0

Developing 8078.6 26.1 30.5 43.8 0.8 10.0 7639.0 27.6 27.7 41.0 0.2 9.2 economies excluding LDCs

Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 22 -

2.24. African LDCs' commodity composition is shown in table 8. After only a small decrease in 2013 (-1%), exports of fuels and mining products continued the negative trend at a higher level in 2014 (-7%). In the last 19 years, however, fuels and mining products gained more than 30 percentage points share in total African LDC exports. In contrast, the share of African LDCs' agricultural exports (12% in 2014) dropped by more than half of its 1995 level (38%). Exports of manufactured products (9% share in 2014) lost more than 13 percentage points of their share against 1995.

Table 8: Product composition of African LDC exports, 1995-2014 (Billion dollars and percentages)

Value Share in total exports Annual percentage change 2014 1995 2000 2014 2013 2014 1995-2014 Agriculture 16.8 37.4 21.1 11.9 8.8 0.6 5.7 Food 13.3 27.6 14.9 9.4 8.4 -0.4 6.1 Raw materials 3.5 9.8 1.5 2.5 10.7 4.6 4.5 Fuels and mining products 102.8 39.7 55.9 73.0 -1.4 -6.9 15.9 Fuels 83.2 24.4 48.6 59.1 -2.1 -9.4 17.6 Non-fuel minerals 19.6 15.3 7.3 13.9 1.9 5.6 11.7 Manufactures 12.1 21.9 14.4 8.6 3.6 2.0 6.9 Textiles and clothing 1.4 2.4 3.0 1.0 16.3 9.4 7.3 Total merchandise exports 140.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 -0.3 -5.0 12.3

Source: UN Comtrade (1995, mirror data), WTO Secretariat (2000 onwards).

2.25. The export structure of Asian LDCs is dominated by manufactures, with a 77% share of their total exports in 2014 (table 9). Between 1995 and 2014, Asian LDCs' export value of agriculture exports as well as of fuels and mining products increased in average by 6% per year; while exports of manufactured products grew by an average 13% annually. The share of fuels and mining products decreased by more than 10 percentage points between 1995 and 2014 while the share of manufactures increased by almost 30 percentage points.

Table 9: Product composition of Asian LDC exports, 1995-2014 (Billion dollars and percentage)

Value Share in total exports Annual percentage change 2014 1995 2000 2014 2013 2014 1995-2014 Agriculture 7.1 28.0 13.2 12.4 17.9 4.0 5.9 Food 4.6 14.3 9.6 8.1 19.1 4.5 7.3 Raw materials 2.5 13.7 3.6 4.3 15.8 3.0 4.0 Fuels and mining products 5.6 22.2 8.0 9.7 19.5 -2.1 5.8 Fuels 5.3 21.5 7.4 9.2 19.9 -2.1 5.7 Non-fuel minerals 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.5 11.6 -2.5 8.0 Manufactures 44.3 49.4 76.6 77.2 16.2 7.3 13.2 Textiles and clothing 34.5 41.2 63.4 60.1 16.8 7.0 12.7 Total merchandise exports 57.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 16.6 5.8 10.5

Source: UN Comtrade (1995, mirror data), WTO Secretariat (2000 onwards).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 23 -

2.2.6 Merchandise trade balance

2.26. With the exception of the three years prior to the global economic crisis (2006, 2007 and 2008), the merchandise trade balance of the LDCs as a group remained in deficit. The overall favourable trade balance recorded in those three years were entirely the result of huge surpluses enjoyed by the fuel exporters which managed to surpass the deficits incurred by non-fuel exporting LDCs. In 2014, the LDCs registered a new high trade deficit of US$59 billion.

Table 10: Coverage ratios of merchandise trade of the LDCs, 1995-2014 (Ratio of groups' merchandise exports to imports, expressed in percentage)

1995 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Developing economies 92 105 110 107 106 107 106 105 106 Least developed countries 70 83 95 83 96 97 88 84 78 fuel exporters 120 164 195 139 189 190 168 152 131 non-fuel exporters 59 58 54 53 58 59 56 56 56 agricultural exporters 59 40 33 33 34 38 32 33 33 manufacture exporters 47 65 62 57 58 60 62 66 64 mineral exporters 77 65 66 70 81 77 72 68 71 diversified and others 63 55 43 40 43 41 38 38 39

Source: WTO Secretariat.

2.27. While only a few countries dominate LDCs' exports (the first ten major exporters accounted for some 80% of LDCs' total merchandise exports in 2014), imports are relatively less concentrated (65% of total LDCs' imports accounted for by the major ten importers). Once again, differentiation among the LDCs is necessary to gauge the trade balances of different category of exporters. The fuel exporters are the only ones to show a positive trade balance (i.e. a coverage ratio of imports by exports above 100), while the non-fuel exporters are characterized by systemic and growing trade deficits. In 2014, fuel exporters recorded a trade surplus of US$24 billion (down from US$38 billion in 2013); while non-fuel exporters registered a high trade deficit of US$83 billion (up from US$79 billion in 2013). Agricultural exporters, comprising 20 LDCs, had the largest trade deficit. In 2014 – as in the previous year - only 33% of their imports were covered by their merchandise exports, with a trade deficit of US$36 billion. The lower coverage ratio is due to a combination of low gain on productivity at the supply side, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, an increase in the domestic demand for agricultural products linked to urban population growth and increase in household income. The six exporters of predominantly manufactured products achieved at least a coverage ratio of 64% in 2014 (trade deficit of US$26 billion), though worse than 2013 (66%). In the last 19 years, non-fuel exporters' trade deficit increased by 11% per year on average; while the surplus of fuel exporters grew by 17%. 2.28. When considering individual countries, only five - Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Zambia - posted positive trade balances in 2014. Among them, Angola markedly led with a surplus of US$34 billion. Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, on the other hand, posted the highest trade deficits in 2014 (US$14.6 billion, US$11.9 billion and US$7.2 billion, respectively).

2.29. The highest positive trade balances of goods in relation to GDP were observed for Equatorial Guinea (share of +61%), Angola (share of +35%) and Eritrea (+14%) in 2013 (see chart 13). Other LDC economies with positive ratios for merchandise trade were Chad and Zambia. All the other LDCs showed negative shares, with Kiribati (-75%), Liberia (-74%) and Timor-Leste (-52%) at the end of the scale. For Kiribati and Liberia, the main reasons for the high negative shares are the "imports" of ships (often under flag of convenience) which are registered as merchandise trade statistics. Back in 1995, Liberia's negative trade balance for ships was more than compensated by the high amount of Liberia's exports of diamonds. Eritrea had a negative ratio back in 1995, but it had turned it into a positive one until 2013, particularly by positive trade balances for ores, gold and silver.

Table 11: LDCs' merchandise trade balance by product groups, 1995-2014 (Billion dollars)

1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total merchandise -13.1 -7.3 -11.1 -9.7 -14.1 -10.5 -4.7 2.9 3.6 6.0 -26.0 -7.0 -7.0 -27.6 -40.8 -58.8 Agriculturea 0.5 -0.9 -1.3 -2.0 -3.0 -3.3 -4.0 -5.1 -9.0 -14.8 -14.1 -17.0 -23.2 -23.0 -25.8 -28.2 Fuels 3.8 12.5 12.5 14.9 17.6 26.7 41.5 55.3 71.8 99.6 61.7 79.4 95.3 95.9 89.5 78.8 Non-fuel minerals 1.9 -2.0 -2.5 -2.5 -2.9 -4.1 -5.0 -8.5 -10.6 -14.2 -11.5 -18.6 -22.6 -22.0 -22.8 -24.3 Manufactures -18.8 -16.6 -17.6 -19.1 -23.0 -29.5 -35.8 -44.3 -58.8 -78.4 -74.8 -88.6 -105.8 -113.3 -118.0 -132.6 a Includes forestry and fishery products. Note: Trade balances for the respective product groups are estimated based on WTO network of world merchandise trade by products and regions and refer to FOB valuation on both export and import sides. These estimates do not add up to the total merchandise trade balances, which are calculated from official statistics and calculated as FOB-based exports minus CIF-based imports. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Source: 1995: UN Comtrade (mirror data), 2000-14: WTO Secretariat.

- 24

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 25 -

Chart 12: Trade balance of goods (BOP), as a percentage of GDP, 1995 and 2013 (Percentage shares)

Source: WTO Secretariat estimates and World Bank (for GDP).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 26 -

2.3 LDCs' Trade in Services 1995-2013

2.30. Commercial services play an increasingly important role in global trade. However, the integration of LDCs in international services trade remains limited due to a number of constraints including poor infrastructure, limited skills and lack of financial resources. Between 1995 and 2013, the share of LDCs in world exports of commercial services increased from 0.4% to only around 0.7% while, on the import side, it rose from 1% to 1.7% (chart 14). Overall, participation remains too marginal to enable the LDCs to fully benefit from service trade-led economic development and poverty reduction.

2.31. Nevertheless, average annual growth of LDCs' services trade was higher than for the rest of the world. Commercial services exports grew by 10.8% and imports by 10.9% compared to 7.9% in other countries. Exports were resilient also during the 2008-2009 global economic crises growing by 7.1%, unlike in other developing economies (-10.8%) and in developed economies (-8.6%).

2.32. LDCs' exports of commercial services reached US$31.5 billion in 2013, up from some US$5 billion in 1995. In the same year, LDCs imported services for US$73.4 billion compared to US$11.3 billion in 1995. LDCs in Africa (and Haiti) accounted for 61.4% of overall LDCs' services exports and for 77.8% of services imports in 2013.3

Chart 13: Trade in commercial services by LDC region, 1995-2013 (Billion dollars and percentages)

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

2.33. LDCs' services exports are dominated by a few players. In 2013, the first ten leading exporters accounted for more than two-thirds of the group's services receipts, a proportion virtually unchanged compared to 1995. In 2013, Afghanistan ranked as the leading exporter with 10% of exports, followed by Tanzania (9.4%) and Cambodia (8.5%). In Cambodia, the largest travel exporter among LDCs, exports grew by 20% on average per year since 1995.

2.34. Imports are equally concentrated with Angola alone representing 30% of LDCs total services payments in 2013. Bangladesh confirmed as the second service importer (8.4%) followed by Ethiopia (4.7%). The most rapid growth rates over the period were recorded in Afghanistan (25%) and Equatorial Guinea (23%).

3 For a more detail analysis of LDCs trade in services by region refer to document WT/COMTD/W/59.

Table 12: LDC commercial services exports by category, 1995-2013 (Billion dollars)

Value 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Commercial services 5,007 5,713 9,150 10,524 13,588 17,337 18,566 21,699 25,901 27,970 31,705

Transport 1,065 1,179 2,095 2,401 2,778 3,459 3,247 4,190 5,633 6,316 7,504

Travel 1,958 2,546 4,810 5,366 7,246 9,419 9,262 9,838 11,471 12,947 14,203

Other commercial services a 1,984 1,989 2,245 2,757 3,564 4,459 6,056 7,671 8,798 8,707 9,998

Growth Rate 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Commercial services 21.3 3.3 11.3 15.0 29.1 27.6 7.1 16.9 19.4 8.0 13.4

Transport 15.5 1.4 24.8 14.6 15.7 24.5 -6.1 29.0 34.4 12.1 18.8

Travel 49.6 0.6 16.0 11.6 35.0 30.0 -1.7 6.2 16.6 12.9 9.7 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

Other commercial services a 4.6 8.3 -6.2 22.8 29.3 25.1 35.8 26.7 14.7 -1.0 14.8

Structure 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 - 27

Commercial services 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Transport 21.3 20.6 22.9 22.8 20.4 20.0 17.5 19.3 21.7 22.6 23.7

Travel 39.1 44.6 52.6 51 53.3 54.3 49.9 45.3 44.3 46.3 44.8

Other commercial servicesa 39.6 34.8 24.5 26.2 26.2 25.7 32.6 35.4 34 31.1 31.5

a The aggregate "other commercial services" covers communications services, construction, insurance services, financial services, computer and information services, royalties and licence fees, other business services, and personal, cultural and recreational services. Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 28 -

Chart 14: Exports and imports of commercial services by leading LDCs, 1995 and 2013 (Percentages) Exports

Imports

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

2.35. According to available data, low- to middle-skilled services sectors such as travel (tourism) and transport characterize the bulk of LDCs' services exports while the participation in higher segments of services trade such as finance, insurance, royalties and licence fees, remained negligible.

Chart 15: Structure of LDCs' exports of commercial services, 1995 and 2013 (Percentages)

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 29 -

2.36. Travel exports, recording the expenditure on goods and services by foreign travellers during their stay in LDCs, reached US$14 billion in 2013 contributing to 44.6% of LDCs' exports, rising significantly from 38.8% in 1995. Overall, travel receipts recorded an annual average growth by 12% since 1995 led by escalating exports of leading exporters, such as Cambodia, Tanzania and Uganda (chart 16).

Chart 16: Travel exports of selected leading LDC travel exporters, 1995 and 2013 (Million dollars)

Source: IMF and WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

2.37. According to Secretariat estimates based on UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data, international tourist arrivals to LDCs increased from US$3.7 million in 1995 to more than US$24 million in 2013. Regional tourism is important, as over two-thirds of international arrivals originated from Africa and Asia.

Chart 17: LDCs' travel exports and estimated international tourist arrivals to LDCs, 1995-2013 (Million dollars)

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates and WTO estimates based on UNWTO data.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 30 -

2.38. Travel exports represent an important source of revenue for LDCs, constituting 1.7% of LDCs' GDP in 2013 as compared to 1.2% in 1995. In particular, in small islands such as Vanuatu, travel exports contribute up to one third of GDP. Travellers' expenditure enters directly the tourism value chain affecting industries such as accommodation, food and beverages, transport, retail, recreation and cultural activities, etc., creating employment opportunities especially in rural areas in LDCs. Tourism revenue also fosters the development of other sectors such as agriculture (e.g., food supply to hotels and restaurants), construction, communications, utilities (e.g., supply of electricity and water to hotels), and conference and events management.

2.39. Tourism, however, is sensitive to external shocks such as natural disasters or economic recession. Indeed, the 2008-2009 global slowdowns affected LDCs tourism. As international tourist arrivals declined, LDCs' travel receipts contracted by 2%, after recording high growth in the two preceding years (35% in 2007 and 30% in 2008). In Cambodia, exports dropped by 11% and in Tanzania by 10%. Yet, the tourism sector recovered promptly with exports increasing by 6% in 2010.

2.40. On the imports side, LDCs' participation in international travel remained relatively low with payments for travelling abroad at US$7.5 billion, and a progressively declining share in LDCs total services imports (9.7% in 2013). With US$1 billion of payments in 2013 up from US$0.36 billion in 1995, Tanzania confirmed as the group's largest travel spender.

2.41. Transport is the second largest export service sector in LDCs. In 2013, transport receipts reached US$7.5 billion, and a 23.8% share of LDCs' total exports compared to 21.5% in 1995. In 2009, following sharp declines in merchandise trade, transport exports decreased by 7.2%. As in the case of travel, LDCs' transport exports rebounded the following year (+10%).

2.42. Between 1995 and 2013, air transport, mainly of passengers, and "other transport" services increased in importance relative sea transport services.4 In 2013, air transportation services represented some 58% of total transport receipts up from an estimated 51% in 1995. Exports of "other transport" rose significantly, from 13% to 33%. The decrease in the relative importance of sea transportation services exports, which accounted for only 9% of total transport exports in 2012, also reflects an increase in transport exports of landlocked LDCs such as Ethiopia.

Chart 18: Estimated structure of LDC transport exports by mode of transport, 1995 and 2012 (Percentages)

Source: WTO estimates.

2.43. Accounting for 27.4% of LDCs' global transport exports, and US$2 billion of exports, Ethiopia is the largest transport exporter of the LDCs. The country's transport sector grew by 13% on average per year since 1995, mostly thanks to expanding air transportation services. Transportation services constituted 76.5% of Ethiopia's total services exports. In recent years, Ethiopia integrated into the international air transport value chain. One important step was that Ethiopian Airlines joined the largest global airline alliance (Star Alliance) in 2011. Air transportation services exports rose rapidly also in Tanzania and Mozambique, although on a smaller scale.

4 "Other transport" includes, inter alia, road and rail transport, as well as pipeline transport and electricity transmission.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 31 -

Chart 19: Leading LDC exporters and importers of transport, 1995 and 2013 (Million dollars)

Source: IMF and WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

2.44. The LDCs are net importers of transport services. In 2013, LDCs' imports stood at US$31.8 billion compared to only US$5 billion in 1995, recording a 10.8% average annual growth. Significant increases were recorded in several countries. In Bangladesh and Angola, the largest transport importers, they related mainly to payments for freight transport services by sea, and in Ethiopia for supporting and auxiliary transport services in foreign airports.5

2.45. In 2013, the aggregate "other commercial services" represented 31.5% of LDCs' total commercial services exports, a share significantly below than the average of other developing countries (45.3%) and the developed group (60%).6 In addition, while in other countries, the relative contribution of other services increased steadily over the years, in the LDCs, it has progressively shrunk (it was estimated at 39.6% in 1995).7

2.46. Communications services, computer and information services, construction, travel, and transport were the most dynamic sectors, all recording double-digit average annual growth. On the contrary, royalties and licence fees was the only sector with negative growth.

Chart 20: Growth of LDC exports by main service sector, 1995-2013 (Percentages)

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

5 Supporting and auxiliary transport services cover, inter alia, loading and unloading of containers and storage and warehousing. 6 The aggregate "other commercial services" covers communications services, construction, insurance services, financial services, computer and information services, royalties and licence fees, other business services and personal, cultural and recreational services. 7 It should be noted that data quality issues affect LDCs statistics by detailed services sector for earlier years.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 32 -

2.47. Communications services, largely telecoms, were the fastest growing services sector in LDCs. In 2013, some 59% of the LDCs' population had a mobile phone subscription compared to less than 1% in 2000.8 In LDCs, mobile telecommunications often replace fixed telephone lines especially in remote areas. Between 1995 and 2013, LDCs' exports of communications services rose by 15% on average per year reaching a value of US$2.4 billion.9 As a result, communications accounted for 7.6% of the group's total services exports up from 4% in 1995. Growth was remarkable in particular in Bangladesh, the leading exporter, Nepal, Senegal, and Mali.

2.48. By contrast, only 9% of LDCs' inhabitants used the Internet while in developed economies, in the same year, this share rose to 76.9%.10 Infrastructural constraints, limited international internet bandwidth coupled with high prices and low level of skills may be among the factors impeding access of LDCs' population to the Internet, in particular through broadband. Internet is essential to supply computer services internationally, which takes place to a large extent electronically.

Chart 21: Leading LDC exporters of communications services, 1995 and 2013 (Million dollars)

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

2.49. Despite sustained period growth, LDCs' exports of computer and information services are modest, estimated at US$367 million in 2013, and a share in LDCs' total exports of 1.2%, up from 0.8% in 1995. In 2013, Bangladesh accounted for one third of LDCs' computer and information services exports. The country's IT sector has grown in recent years, becoming an attractive IT and business processing outsourcing destination ranking 26th among the top 50 offshoring locations.11 However, while traditional outsourcing remains relatively small, Bangladesh has emerged especially as a hub for freelance IT services via online marketplaces. Freelance professionals offer various services from simple data entry to application development and project management.

2.50. In 2013, construction accounted for 4.6% of total commercial services exports of LDCs with an estimated value of US$1.5 billion, on the rise compared to 3.7% estimated for 1995. However, the sector is highly concentrated with Afghanistan alone making up for more than half of total

8 Aggregate calculated by WTO Secretariat on the basis of ITU statistics, on www.itu.int More details on mobile networks penetration rates in LDCs, see WT/COMTD/LDC/W/59. 9 Telecommunications services in BOP statistics encompass the transmission of sound, images or other information by telephone, telex, telegram, radio and television cable and broadcasting, satellite, electronic mail, facsimile services, etc. Also included are cellular telephone services, Internet backbone services and on- line access services, including provision of access to the Internet. 10 On the basis of UN M49 aggregate "developed economies", as reported by ITU. 11 The 2014 A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 33 - construction exports by the LDCs. Uganda ranked second with a contribution of over 16%. The bulk of LDCs' construction exports, such as that of Afghanistan, largely relates to the local supply of construction goods and services to foreign building companies present in the territory ("construction in the compiling economy").

2.51. The contribution of "other business services" to LDCs' services exports remains low (14.4%) compared to other economies (26.8%). Over the period, its share dropped by 8 percentage points. Unfortunately, due to scarcity of statistics, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the type of business services exported by the LDCs as a group.12 Afghanistan and Mozambique were the leading exporters of other business services, with exports estimated, respectively, at US$1,645 million and US$477 million in 2013.

2.3.1 Direction of trade

2.52. At present, it is difficult to determine the direction of LDCs' exports of services. Although an increasing number of developing countries have started data collection, bilateral statistics in the area of services are mainly compiled by developed economies. To the Secretariat's knowledge, only Bangladesh publishes statistics on bilateral trade in services among the LDCs.

2.53. To analyse the direction of trade in services of the LDCs, it is necessary to use available mirror statistics of developed economies. In 2012, EU (28) imports from the LDCs amounted to some US$10.5 billion, accounting for 1.6% of total services imports from non-EU countries, a share almost unchanged over the years. Imports from African LDCs represented 74% of total and a value of US$7.8 billion, while those from Asian LDCs stood at US$2.7 billion. The value of EU (28) imports represented around 33% of the LDCs' estimated services exports in 2012. The EU (28) main partners within the group were Afghanistan (9.8%), Liberia (8.5%) Angola (7.6%) and Senegal (7.3%), accounting overall for one third of the EU's total services payments to the LDCs.

Chart 22: European Union (28) – Imports of services from LDCs, 2006-2012 (Billion dollars)

Source: Eurostat.

12 The aggregate "other business services" comprises merchanting and other trade-related services, operational leasing services as well as miscellaneous business, professional and technical services.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 34 -

2.3.2 Services exports by GATS modes of supply

2.54. Ideally, each BOP services transaction should be allocated to each individual mode of service supply as defined in the GATS. Compiling services statistics by GATS modes of supply requires designing specific surveys targeting primarily the firms engaged in services transactions. This exercise can be costly both in terms of human and financial resources. At present, only a few countries have started to explore this issue.

2.55. The Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services proposes a simplified approach on the allocation of services statistical domains to GATS modes of supply.13 Following the simplified approach, in 2012, more than half of LDCs' services exports took place through mode 2 (consumption abroad).14 This is due to the magnitude of travel exports and, for some LDCs, of supporting and auxiliary transport services (such as loading and unloading of containers in ports and airports, storage and warehousing, etc.) which are supplied on a consumption abroad basis. Mode 1 exports (cross-border trade) accounted for 30% of total exports and include transport services (excluding supporting, auxiliary transport, and other transport services for available LDCs), communications services, insurance services, financial services, and royalties and licence fees.

2.56. Exports through modes 1 and 4 (cross-border trade and presence of natural persons) together made up 13% of total services exports. This category covers computer and information services, other business services (excluding merchanting and other trade related services, as well as operational leasing services, as available), personal, cultural and recreational services, which are services for which a dominant mode of supply cannot be determined.

2.57. Modes 3 and 4 (commercial presence and presence of natural persons) cover only construction in BOP statistics, and represented 5% in total exports in 2012. As for the vast majority of developing economies, also in the case of the LDCs, no outward FATS exist, and existing outward FDI statistics for LDCs point to very small amounts.

Chart 23: LDCs: Estimated exports of commercial services by mode of supply (BOP basis), 2012 (Percentages)

Source: WTO estimates.

13 UN - Eurostat - IMF - OECD - UNCTAD - UNWTO - WTO, "Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 (MSITS 2010)". 14 The year 2012 was chosen due to higher data availability.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 35 -

2.4 Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS)

2.58. Zambia is among the few developing economies and the first LDC to compile detailed annual inward FATS statistics. Inward FATS provide important indicators on the activities of resident majority-owned foreign affiliates (MOFAs) of foreign firms. The variable Sales (turnover) by MOFAs engaged in services activities provides the closest measure of Zambia's imports of services through Mode 3.

2.59. According to the latest survey, in 2012, in Zambia there were 126 MOFAs accounting for approximately 10% of Zambia’s employment and contributing for 28% to the country's GDP. In 2012, total sales by MOFAs reached US$13.2 billion, up by 3% compared to 2011. While mining and quarrying made up for almost half of MOFAs' sales, services activities and construction represented overall 28% of total sales. The main services sectors were a commercial presence was registered were wholesale and retail trade (16%), finance and insurance (4%) and telecommunications (3%).15

2.60. A geographical breakdown shows that the bulk of MOFAs' sales in Zambia were made by developed economies, in particular, the United Kingdom (21%) and Canada (16%). MOFAs from developing countries accounted for close to a third of total sales of MOFAs. China ranked as the first developing partner country (15%), followed by Mauritius (7%) and South Africa (6%).

2.61. MOFAs in Zambia exported services to other countries for some US$24 million, or only 5% of Zambia's total exports of commercial services, while their services imports were relatively higher at US$176 million, representing 14.6% of Zambia's total services imports.

Chart 24: Zambia: Inward FATS sales by economic activity and partner country, 2012 (Percentages)

Source: Bank of Zambia.

15 The survey, started in 2010, is carried out by the Bank of Zambia in collaboration, inter alia, with Zambia Development Agency, the Central Statistical Office, and Zambia's Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 36 -

3 TRENDS IN MARKET ACCESS FOR PRODUCTS OF EXPORT INTEREST TO LDCS

3.1. The objective of this chapter is to monitor the evolution of market access conditions for LDC exports along two tariff related dimensions: the share of LDC exports benefiting from duty-free status in the importing markets and the average tariffs paid on dutiable products. For both indicators, the report identifies preferential treatments that exporters may receive under existing LDC or other preferential schemes. The review includes LDCs' market access conditions in both developed and in selected developing country markets. In the latter case, the coverage is still limited by data availability.

3.1 Market Access in Developed Economies

3.2. Chart 25 shows the share of the exports from developing countries and LDCs imported free of duty in developed markets. Since 1995, there was some erosion of the duty-free preference granted to LDCs in relation to other developing countries, leading to almost similar overall duty-free treatment in 2014. The trend towards the convergence of LDCs and developing countries' share of duty-free exports along the years can be explained by two facts.

3.3. The first factor is part of the trend towards lower tariffs, with more and more products being imported duty free by developed countries under Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment, including the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). In this case, which represents the majority of developing country exports, there is no true preference granted.16 In contrast, most LDC exports which are duty free are truly preferential as they would have been dutiable in absence of preferences.

3.4. The second factor is more specific and related to the progressive phasing-out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (1974-94), which set quotas of apparel. This Arrangement gave way to the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, a ten-year liberalization process that was undertaken to remove the existing quota in stages up to 2004. This liberalization of trade affected the level of production and exports in regions where the textile and clothing industries had delocalized to avoid the quotas.

Chart 25: Share of duty-free imports by developed economies originating from LDCs and comparison with total developing countries, 1996-2014 (Percentage shares)

Note: Excluding arms and oil. Source: Based on CAMAD database compiled by ITC, UNCTAD and WTO.

16 True preferential duty-free access is defined as the percentage of exports offered duty-free treatment under the GSP-LDC and other preferential schemes, as compared to products offered duty-free entry under the MFN treatment.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 37 -

3.5. With relatively small year-to-year fluctuations, LDC and developing countries' duty-free market access continued improving in recent years. In 2014, 79% of developing country exports (excluding arms and oil) benefit from a duty-free treatment when imported by developed countries and this ratio rises to 84% in the case of products exported by LDCs. A closer analysis shows that most of the decline observed for the wider group of developing countries is accounted for by an increase in dutiable exports to the EU after the revision of the list of GSP beneficiaries and the graduation of a number of developing or CIS countries.

3.6. The duty-free coverage by groups of products varies significantly. Almost all (98%) agricultural exports from LDCs are exempted from duties by developed countries while this percentage is only 74% in the case of developing countries. A similar treatment (97%) is granted to manufacture products exported by LDCs (with the important exception of textile and clothing in one developed market of major export interest to LDCs), against 86% for developing countries exports. Differences of treatment in favour of LDCs are even larger for textile (71% of LDC exports are duty-free compared to 41% for the larger group of developing countries) and clothing (76% and 34%, respectively).

3.7. Moreover, when looking at preferences, the nature of the competitive advantage remains significant for LDCs. About 60% of LDC exports benefit from true preferential treatment, being exempted of duties on items that are normally dutiable, such as agriculture or clothing. This ratio has steadily increased in the recent years. In contrast, most of developing country exports that are duty-free receive this treatment under the MFN treatment, thus without gaining any particular competitive margin over other exporters.

3.8. The evolution of duty-free coverage over time indicates that about half the LDCs were already receiving close to 100% duty-free access in 1996 (excluding arms and oil), after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the creation of WTO. For other LDCs, the extension of duty-free treatment has been significant. The gains have been in the range of 50% to 60% for Haiti, Lesotho and Somalia, more than 65% for Kiribati and up to 75% in the case of Yemen. The case of Cambodia is particular, in the sense that this is the sole LDC that recorded a decrease (34 percentage points) in the coverage of its duty-free treatment. This is caused by its successful diversification out of traditional exports and towards apparels, a large share of them being exported to the United States.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 38 -

Chart 26: Share of export value imported duty free by developed economies originating for individual LDCs, 1996-2014

Note: Excluding arms and oil. Source: WTO-ITC-UNCTAD and based on CAMAD database compiled by ITC, UNCTAD and WTO.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 39 -

3.9. Besides duty-free access, LDCs benefit from lower tariff duties for their merchandise exports, either because they tend to export on tariff lines with low MFN tariff (fuels and minerals) or thanks to preferential schemes. Table 13 provides information on the average tariffs levied on labour-intensive merchandises exported by the LDCs to developed countries and compares them with the tariffs faced by exporters in other developing countries.

3.10. The average tariffs faced by LDCs on their key products declined rapidly during 1996-2000. Thereafter, average tariffs decreased only slowly in recent years. They are now close to zero in the case of agriculture and manufactures (other than textile and clothing products). The situation relative to competing exports from other developing countries varies according to the type of exported products. On agricultural products, the average preference granted by developed economies to LDCs is higher than what other developing countries can expect. The data indicate a difference of about 7 percentage points in 2014 (0.9% vs. 8.0%). The margin is much lower (slightly more than 1%) for clothing and textiles.

Table 13: Average tariffs levied by developed countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 1996-2014 (Percentage ad valorem excluding arms and oil)a All developing 1996 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 countries b c Agriculture 10.4 9.2 8.8 7.3 7.2 7.7 7.6 8.0 Clothing 11.5 10.8 8.4 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.7 Textile 7.3 6.6 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.5 Other industries 2.0 1.4 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 LDCs 1996 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Agriculture 6.6 3.6 3.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 Clothing 3.3 7.8 6.4 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.5 Textile 2.7 4.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.2

Other industries 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 a Average tariffs are based on best applicable tariffs (MFN and preferential treatments granted to LDCs and developing countries). b Includes LDCs. c Weighted average using a standard export structure based on 2000-2001 data, to limit the impact of the year-to-year changes in export composition and relative prices on the indicators. Source: Based on CAMAD database compiled by ITC, UNCTAD and WTO.

3.11. Table 14 provides more detailed information at the tariff line level. Most developed countries have been providing total or nearly total duty-free status to LDC exports under the general GSP-LDC scheme, either in terms of tariff lines (first group of columns of the table) or import value (second panel).17 Moreover, LDCs may benefit from other types of preferences; this is particularly the case for the US market where other preferential schemes coexist with the GSP-LDC scheme, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for the eligible African LDCs.

17 When 100% of tariff lines are covered, 100% of the imported value will be covered; the reverse is not true as 100% of imported value can be treated as DFQF even if some tariff lines are not duty free, as long as no imports are recorded for those dutiable tariff lines.

Table 14: GSP tariff treatment of LDC exports in selected developed markets, 2013

GSP-LDC duty scheme Imports from UN-LDC countries b (million US$ and percentage) Number of tariff lines Number of tariff lines with imports from LDC beneficiariesa Market Sector Dutiable Duty free Total Dutiable Dutiable TOTAL Dutiable Duty free Weighted (%) under MFN under (%) applied dutyd GSP- LDC scheme Australia Total 0 100.0 992 622 0 816.8 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture 0 100.0 132 42 0 28.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Non-agriculturec 0 100.0 855 580 0 739.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores 0 100.0 4 0 0 15.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 1 0 0 32.7 0.0 100.0 0.0 Canada Total 105 98.6 2,132 988 2 4,001.2 1.7 100.0 0.0 Agriculture 105 92.8 363 173 2 66.2 0.4 99.4 0.0 c

Non-agriculture 0 100.0 1,757 815 0 2,305.8 1.3 99.9 0.0 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Ores 0 100.0 11 0 0 122.1 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 1 0 0 1,507.1 0.0 100.0 0.0 European Union Total 91 99.0 4,109 3,139 12 46,190.2 215.5 99.5 0.0 - 40 Agriculture 73 96.5 686 498 7 3,547.1 15.8 99.6 0.0

Non-agriculturec 18 99.8 3,401 2,641 5 24,990.0 199.7 99.2 0.1 Ores 0 100.0 20 0 0 1,401.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 2 0 0 16,251.2 0.0 100.0 0.0 Japan Total 197 97.9 1,037 672 18 6,859.4 26.7 99.6 0.0 Agriculture 69 96.5 154 83 3 390.7 0.9 99.8 0.0 Non-agriculturec 128 98.3 878 589 15 5,413.3 25.8 99.5 0.0 Ores 0 100.0 4 0 0 118.7 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 1 0 0 936.7 0.0 100.0 0.0 New Zealand Total 0 100.0 839 538 0 99.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture 0 100.0 117 40 0 20.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 Non-agriculturec 0 100.0 722 498 0 79.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores 0 100.0 0 0 0 0.0 n.a n.a n.a Petroleum 0 100.0 0 0 0 0.0 n.a n.a n.a

GSP-LDC duty scheme Imports from UN-LDC countries b (million US$ and percentage) Number of tariff lines Number of tariff lines with imports from LDC beneficiariesa Market Sector Dutiable Duty free Total Dutiable Dutiable TOTAL Dutiable Duty free Weighted (%) under MFN under (%) applied dutyd GSP- LDC scheme Norway Total 1 100.0 909 296 0 883.7 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture 0 100.0 141 65 0 28.8 0.0 100.0 0.0 Non-agriculturec 1 100.0 765 231 0 264.2 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores 0 100.0 2 0 0 12.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 1 0 0 578.5 0.0 100.0 0.0 Switzerland Total 0 100.0 1,291 1,110 0 627.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture 0 100.0 275 209 0 145.4 0.0 100.0 0.0 Non-agriculturec 0 100.0 1,015 901 0 482.5 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores 0 100.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Petroleum 0 100.0 0 0 0 0.0 n.a n.a n.a United States of Total 1,862 82.6 1,892 1,253 612 22,748.2 8,936.2 60.7 6.7 America Agriculture 272 85.7 269 176 5 463.3 2.2 99.5 0.0

- 41 Non-agriculturec 1,590 81.9 1,615 1,073 607 11,046.9 8,934.0 19.1 13.8

Ores 0 100.0 6 2 0 145.2 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 2 2 0 11,092.8 0.0 100.0 0.0 a Beneficiaries are countries eligible to the national LDC scheme; some UN-LDC countries may be excluded; non-UN LDC countries may be included. The incidence of other preferential schemes such as AGOA is not included. b Forty-nine LDC countries as listed by the UN in 2013 (including Samoa which graduated from LDC status in 2014). c "Non-agriculture" covers NAMA products with the exclusion of ores and petroleum. d Excludes non-ad valorem duties, except for the US. Source: IDB-WTO.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 42 -

3.12. All the above-mentioned indicators based on best applicable tariffs are established on the hypothesis that available preferences are fully used by the exporters. This may not be the case for a number of reasons; ranging from ineligibility –due to non-conformity to some criteria such as rules of origin – to excessive administrative cost to benefit from the preferential scheme. The utilization and effectiveness of such preferences have been intensively debated in the development economics literature (see Hoekman and Ozden, 2005 for a review). 18 Other limitations are closely related to supply-side issues; for example, due to poor pesticide and storage management, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards are often an obstacle for LDCs' agricultural exports to developed countries. Using the example of Senegal, Mbaye and Gueye (2014)19 relate how the issue of pesticide residues has become an issue for African exports to Europe over the past several years.

3.13. Constructing indicators on rates of utilization is a complex exercise, and the data provided in Table 15 are tentative. The relatively low number recorded in 2013 for the US reflects in large part a composition effect, due to a the sharp reduction in oil imports.

Table 15: LDC exports in selected developed markets, 2013

Market % of total LDC imports Imports entering under (2013) preferential regime as a Eligible to Entering percentage of imports any under any eligible to preferencea preference preference Canada 45.6 43.8 96.1 EU (low estimate)b 49.5 46.8 93.6 EU (high estimate)b 49.9 48.1 97.3

US 58.5 44.1 75.4 a Covering GSP and other preferential schemes. b Low and high estimates depend upon the statistical treatment of "unknown" inflows; the high estimate imputes them as having used the preference while the low estimate considers that they did not.

3.14. The specificity, design and application of rules of origin can also make it difficult for LDC exporters to benefit from preference schemes. Strict rules of origin (or regional cumulation) were justified on the ground that they help in promoting integrated production structure in the recipient country. This aim is now questioned as manufacture production is increasingly performed in the context of global industrial networks (Zedillo et al, 2005; Jara and Escaith, 201220). This is a particular problem in textiles and apparel, which are key exports for LDCs.

3.15. Granting LDCs preferences encourages LDC export diversification; however, even when fully utilized, preferences are often eroded by higher transaction and transportation costs that reduce LDCs' competitiveness vis à vis their main competitors. The comparison of trade costs confirms that LDCs face a comparative disadvantage when exporting goods. For example, in 2014, to export a container took, on average, 32 days in LDCs as compared to 25 days in lower-middle income countries.21 The problem is particularly acute for landlocked countries. As mentioned by Djankov et al22 (2010), each additional day that a product is delayed prior to being shipped reduces trade by more than 1%. Delays are particularly damaging for time-sensitive goods, such as perishable agricultural products, which are of particular interest to LDCs as they are both labour-intensive and high value-added.

18 Hoekman, B., Ozden, C. (2005). Trade Preferences and Differential Treatment of Developing Countries: A Selective Survey, World Bank - Research Department. Volume V, Issue 1(9), Summer 2014. 19 Mbaye, A.A, Gueye, A. (2014). SPS standards and international competitiveness in Africa: the case of Senegal' in Connecting to Global markets: Challenges and opportunities presented by WTO chair-holders; WTO. 20 Zedillo, E., Messerlin, P. Nielson, J. (2005). Trade for Development, UN Millenium Project. Jara, A., Escaith, H. (2012). Global Value Chains, International Trade Statistics and Policymaking in a Flattening World, World Economics, 13(4): 5-18. 21 See Figure 1.3 in OECD/WTO (2015). Aid for Trade at a Glance 2015: Reducing Trade Costs for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. 22 Djankov, S., C. Freund; C-S. Pham. (2010). Trading on Time, Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(1): 166-173.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 43 -

3.16. High international trade costs are often correlated with poor inland transportation infrastructure which reduces not only the potential for international trade but also dampens the possibility for small producers in remote areas to tap the potential of regional markets. The issue is particularly acute for Sub-Saharan Africa (Buysa et al., 201023) but is also representative of the situation of most large LDCs.

3.2 Market Access in Developing Economies

3.17. Compiling time series of statistical indicators related to preferential market access to developing countries remains challenging from a statistical perspective. Chart 27 and Table 17 use the information received from 18 developing countries. In order to track changes in tariffs without interferences from changes in the value of products, the indicators produced in this exercise are based on a fixed Standard Import Structure (SIS). This SIS corresponds to the basket of LDC goods imported by these 18 developing countries between 2001 and 2013. Using the same fixed trade flows as weight across all years allows the indicator to capture only the changes in tariffs. The indicator remains subject to geographical composition effects as it is affected by changes in the relative weight of import markets; this geographical effect explains, for example, the increase in average MFN tariffs observed after 2011 in chart 27. Chart 27: Average tariffs levied by selected developing countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 2001-2013 (excluding oil)

Notes and Sources: See Table 16.

3.18. As seen in Chart 27, preferences weighted very little on the LDC South-South exports up to 2006. After this date, the margin of preference granted to LDCs relative to the MFN treatment increased rapidly. The preferences focused first on clothing and agriculture, with preference margins raising in 2007 to 4.9 and 2.5 percentage points, respectively (see Table 15). Preferences on LDCs' textile exports (of lesser importance in the composition of LDC exports) increased a few years after, in 2010. On the basis of the last comprehensive information notified to WTO (2013), the LDCs benefitted from an average preference margin of 5 percentage points, with the margin being highest in clothing (9.6 p.p.) and textiles (6.8 p.p.). The margin of preference is also significant on agricultural products (4.3 p.p.) but applies to a much higher average MFN tariff, resulting in applied rates still above 16% ad valorem.

23 Buysa, P., Deichmann, U., Wheele, D. (2010). Road Network Upgrading: Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa, Journal of African Economies, 19 (3): 399-432.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 44 -

Table 16: Average tariffs levied by selected developing countries on key products from developing countries and LDCs, 2001-2013 (excluding oil) (Percentage ad valorem)a

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Totala MFN 11.0 10.9 10.8 9.8 9.8 9.0 8.8 7.8 7.9 7.7 7.3 8.3 8.2 Pref 10.8 10.7 10.6 9.5 9.3 8.5 6.6 5.6 5.4 3.0 3.4 3.2 3.2 Of which: Agriculture MFN 24.4 24.4 24.0 23.1 24.4 22.5 21.0 15.6 16.0 15.1 16.3 20.3 20.6 Pref 23.9 23.9 23.6 22.6 23.6 21.6 18.5 13.4 13.8 11.3 13.3 15.9 16.2

Primary MFN 5.6 7.6 7.6 6.3 6.1 5.2 4.4 3.5 3.5 2.8 2.7 3.0 3.0 Pref 5.5 7.5 7.6 6.2 6.1 5.2 3.8 3.1 3.1 2.3 2.2 1.9 1.9

Clothing MFN 10.7 10.6 9.1 13.0 11.1 13.6 14.2 13.3 12.9 13.9 13.7 14.0 14.0 Pref 10.3 10.2 8.7 12.3 10.6 12.7 9.3 9.0 8.0 4.1 4.8 4.3 4.5

Textiles MFN 17.4 15.8 13.9 11.9 10.2 9.6 8.9 7.8 7.7 7.9 7.9 8.1 8.1 Pref 17.3 15.7 13.8 11.7 9.6 8.9 7.3 5.1 4.9 1.2 3.0 1.2 1.2

Otherb MFN 12.4 11.2 10.2 8.2 7.7 6.8 5.8 4.7 4.7 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.0 Pref 12.2 11.0 10.0 8.0 7.1 6.2 4.6 3.2 3.1 1.9 2.4 1.4 1.4

a Average applied tariffs are based on best applicable tariffs (MFN and preferential treatments granted to LDCs), and weighted using a standard export structure based on the 2001-2013 average. This indicator is still under construction and results may not be comparable with previous reports due to changes in methodology and coverage. The sample includes 18 economies, based on notifications received by WTO-IDB. China; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; India; Indonesia; Republic of Korea; Macao, China; Mauritius; Morocco; Nicaragua; Singapore; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Chinese Taipei; Turkey; Viet Nam. b Manufactures other than clothing and textiles; agriculture, fishing and forestry products not included in the AoA. Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 45 -

3.19. Table 17 presents available data for selected developing countries for the year 2013. Hong Kong, China, and Singapore are special cases as 100% of all products are duty free on an MFN basis. For a number of other importers, the duty-free imports from LDCs have been significant; around 95% and more for China and Chinese Taipei; over 86% for the Republic of Korea and between two-thirds to four-fifths for Brazil, India, Pakistan and South Africa. Yet, a large part of this result is attributable to imports of non-agricultural primary products (ores and petroleum) that are not dutiable under MFN.

3.20. The "true" duty-free treatment granted to LDCs on tariff lines that are dutiable under MFN is much lower. This is also due to the fact that information on preferential tariffs enjoyed by LDCs in developing markets is still limited. Based on the available information, it is found that the Republic of Korea granted duty-free treatment on about 90% of its products, Turkey for some 80% while China has done the same for 62% of its tariff lines. Following the completion of a five-year implementation period, India granted duty-free coverage to LDCs for 82% of its total tariff lines in 2013. Since Table 17 is based on the year 2013, it does not reflect recent improvements in the DFQF coverage of China and India, as well as the introduction of new DFQF schemes by Chile and Thailand. Such recent initiatives are described in the next section and reflected in Annex Table 7.

3.21. Weighted applied duties vary markedly from importer to importer as a result of the differences in their tariff schedules, including LDC preferences, and the composition of their imports from LDCs. Average duties on agricultural imports, in particular, remained over 15% (a threshold used to indicate tariff peaks) in one third of the surveyed importing countries, even without considering the incidence of non ad valorem duties. Little changes on the average duties collected on dutiable products were observable between 2012 and 2013. Most of them were due to changes either in the structure of imports or due to drop in the international price of ores and oil or due to change in the volume of imports.

Table 17: Tariff treatment of LDC exports in selected developing markets, 2013

LDC duty scheme Imports from UN-LDC countriesb (million US$ and percentage) Number of tariff lines with imports from Number of tariff lines Market Sector LDC beneficiaries Duty Dutiable Dutiable Duty free Weighted Dutiable free Total under LDC Total Dutiable under MFN (%) applied duty (%) scheme Brazil Total - - 763 713 - 998.8 330.2 66.9 8.3 Agriculture - - 48 40 - 36.8 34.8 5.5 12.1 Non-agriculturec - - 710 669 - 412.4 287.8 30.2 19.0 Ores - - 4 4 - 7.7 7.7 0.0 2.0 Petroleum - - 1 0 - 542.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 Chile Total - - - - - 139.2 139.2 0.0 6.0 Agriculture - - - - - 0.7 0.7 0.0 6.0 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 138.1 138.1 0.0 6.0 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Ores - - - - - 0.3 0.3 0.0 6.0 Petroleum - - - - - 0.0 n.a n.a n.a

China Total 3,170 61.5 1,483 1,305 346 56,899.5 3,017.3 94.7 0.9 - 46

Agriculture 506 56.5 138 128 35 1,754.8 926.9 47.2 17.5 Non-agriculturec 2,664 62.1 1,322 1,177 311 11,471.6 2,090.4 81.8 1.6 Ores 0 100.0 22 0 0 4,883.4 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 1 0 0 38,789.7 0.0 100.0 0.0 Egypt Total - - - - - 454.6 325.6 28.4 2.3

Agriculture - - - - - 177.9 59.7 66.4 0.7 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 276.4 265.9 3.8 3.3 Ores - - - - - 0.3 0.0 88.6 0.2 Petroleum - - - - - 0.0 n.a n.a n.a Hong Kong, China Total - - - - - 1,209.1 0.0 100.0 0.0 Agriculture - - - - - 48.4 0.0 100.0 0.0 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 1,150.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores - - - - - 10.5 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum - - - - - 0.0 n.a n.a n.a India Total 2,079 81.9 1,595 1,536 468.0 12,918.8 2,334.1 81.9 3.7 Agriculture 743 50.5 283 265 153.0 2,156.5 1,141.0 47.1 19.3 Non-agriculturec 1,336 86.5 1,290 1,250 315.0 3,393.1 1,193.0 64.8 1.7 Ores 0 100.0 21 21 0.0 169.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum - - 1 0 - 8,941.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

LDC duty scheme Imports from UN-LDC countriesb (million US$ and percentage) Number of tariff lines with imports from Number of tariff lines Market Sector LDC beneficiaries Duty Dutiable Dutiable Duty free Weighted Dutiable free Total under LDC Total Dutiable under MFN (%) applied duty (%) scheme

Korea, Republic of Total 1,171 90.4 1,400 1,213 163.0 4,336.1 600.8 86.1 1.5 Agriculture 695 59.7 231 218 95.0 196.9 79.7 59.5 19.6 Non-agriculturec 466 95.5 1,156 990 64.0 3,687.5 89.3 97.6 0.4 Ores 0 100.0 9 1 0.0 19.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 10 0.0 4 4 4.0 431.8 431.8 0.0 3.0 Mexico Total - - - - - 419.8 328.7 21.7 18.9 Agriculture - - - - - 20.8 19.8 4.5 24.9 c

Non-agriculture - - - - - 394.7 308.8 21.8 18.8 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Ores - - - - - 4.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum - - - - - 0.0 n.a n.a n.a Pakistan Total - - - - - 557.5 124.2 77.7 3.5 - 47 Agriculture - - - - - 302.5 82.4 72.8 4.9

Non-agriculturec - - - - - 245.9 32.9 86.6 1.6 Ores - - - - - 9.1 8.9 1.5 4.9 Petroleum - - - - - 0.0 n.a n.a n.a Singapore Total - - - - - 1,673.0 0.1 100.0 0.0 Agriculture - - - - - 116.6 0.1 99.9 0.0 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 985.2 0.0 100.0 0.0 Ores - - - - - 11.6 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum - - - - - 559.6 0.0 100.0 0.0 South Africa Total - - - - - 4,688.6 1,355.4 71.1 3.8 Agriculture - - - - - 263.0 188.4 28.4 6.5 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 2,001.4 1,166.9 41.7 10.6 Ores - - - - - 11.3 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum - - - - - 2,412.8 0.0 100.0 0.0 Chinese Taipei Total 5,962 31.7 835 658 602 4,286.3 109.9 97.4 0.3 Agriculture 1,067 24.3 106 75 72 73.2 38.1 48.0 7.0 Non-agriculturec 4,895 32.7 725 583 530 774.0 71.8 90.7 0.9 Ores 0 100.0 2 0 0 0.6 0.0 100.0 0.0 Petroleum 0 100.0 2 0 0 3,438.5 0.0 100.0 0.0

LDC duty scheme Imports from UN-LDC countriesb (million US$ and percentage) Number of tariff lines with imports from Number of tariff lines Market Sector LDC beneficiaries Duty Dutiable Dutiable Duty free Weighted Dutiable free Total under LDC Total Dutiable under MFN (%) applied duty (%) scheme Thailand Total - - - - - 8,382.6 5,546.5 33.8 3.5 Agriculture - - - - - 412.7 294.3 28.7 21.5 Non-agriculturec - - - - - 5,929.6 5,227.1 11.8 3.5 Ores - - - - - 26.3 25.1 4.5 1.0 Petroleum - - - - - 2,013.9 0.0 100.0 0.0 Turkey Total 2,480 79.0 Agriculture 1,659 26.0 Non-agriculturec 818 91.4

Ores 3 92.3 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Petroleum 0 100.0 a Beneficiaries are countries eligible to the national LDC scheme; some UN-LDC countries may be excluded; non-UN LDC countries may be included. - 48 b Forty-nine LDC countries as listed by the UN in 2013 (including Samoa which graduated from LDC status in 2014). Weighted applied duty excludes non ad valorem duties. c "Non Agriculture" covers NAMA products with the exclusion of ores and petroleum. - No national LDC scheme or data not provided to WTO-Secretariat.

Source: IDB-WTO.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 49 -

4 RECENT INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE MARKET ACCESS FOR LDCS

4.1. Annex Table 7 provides a non-exhaustive list of major multilateral non-reciprocal market access schemes undertaken by Members in favour of LDCs. It updates the previous year's information based on Members' notifications and statements at the WTO as well as submissions made to WTO's IDB. The Table does not include regional or bilateral agreements/initiatives under which, too, LDCs receive preferences.

4.2. Progress has continued in advancing market access opportunities for LDCs. Since the last report, one additional developing country Member – Thailand- has notified a DFQF scheme in favour of LDCs (WT/COMTD/N/46–G/C/W/714). The scheme, which came into effect on 9 April 2015, provides DFQF market access on 73.2% of Thailand's tariff lines.

4.3. While formal notifications have been limited over the reporting period, a number of Members indicated progress in their market access schemes related to LDCs. At the CTD Meeting on 26 March 2015, China informed Members that it had extended its DFQF scheme for LDCs. Since January 2015, it has been according LDCs DFQF market access on 97% of its tariff lines (WT/COMTD/M/93). At the CTD Meeting on 23 September 2015, the delegation of the United States reported that necessary legislative steps have been taken to eliminate duties for LDCs for five tariff lines of upland cotton covering out-of-quota quantities of these products. This would come in addition to the seven tariff lines of upland cotton which were designated for duty-free treatment under GSP for LDCs in 2012.

4.4. As has been reported in the past, most of the developed Members grant either full or nearly full DFQF market access. A number of developing countries have also taken concrete steps to provide duty-free access to LDC products. In this regard, six developing countries have made notifications pursuant to the established procedure including under the Transparency Mechanism for the Preferential Trade Arrangements. These countries are: Chile, China, India, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.24 Most of them grant a significant degree of DFQF market access to LDC products, and a number of them have reached or are in the process of attaining comprehensive DFQF coverage for LDCs. Members have continued discussions on DFQF at the WTO. On 21 September 2015, a CTD meeting was held dedicated to discuss the state of play on DFQF market access as well as issues surrounding the implementation of DFQF for LDC products.

4.5. Continuous efforts are being made to help LDCs with preferential rules of origin. In line with the Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs (WT/L/917) of the Bali Ministerial Conference, the Committee on Rules of Origin held its first annual review on developments in preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs in October 2014. In an informal dedicated session of the Committee on Rules of Origin in July 2015, LDCs and preference-granting Members discussed, inter alia, the relationship between the existing rules of origin and the guidelines set in the 2013 Bali Ministerial Decision.

4.6. In March 2015, the EU amended its GSP rules of origin by further refining the system of self- certification of origin, which will come into force in 2017 (WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.7). On 6 August 2015, Japan notified a simplification of its preferential rules of origin for its DFQF scheme with respect to HS Chapter 61 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (G/RO/N/131). As of April 2015, such articles qualify as originating goods if they are manufactured from fabrics while before they had qualified if manufactured from yarns.

4.7. Progress was made with respect to preferential treatment of services and services suppliers from LDCs. In 2011, Ministers adopted the LDC Services Waiver (WT/L/847) which enables Members to provide market access preferences to services and service suppliers of LDCs. Following the process outlined in the Bali Decision relating to the operationalization of the LDC Services Waiver (WT/L/918), the LDCs submitted a collective request (S/C/W/356, S/C/W/356/Corr.1, S/C/W/356/Corr.2) in July 2014 and a high-level meeting of the Services Council was held on 5 February 2015.

4.8. At the high-level meeting, some 25 delegations indicated sectors and modes where they intended to provide preferences to LDC services and service suppliers. Annex Table 8 provides the list of Members that have already submitted notifications in this respect. As of end September 2015, 15 Members (Australia; Canada; China; Hong Kong, China; India; Japan; Republic of Korea; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei;

24 The references to their notifications can be found in Annex Table 7.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 50 -

Turkey; and the United States) had notified preferences. Two further Members, the EU and Chile, circulated to the Services Council a submission stating their intention to notify preferences.

5 CONCLUSION

5.1. Over the 1995-2013 period, LDC exports of goods and services grew by an annual average of 12.6%, markedly higher than the 11.3% average for other developing economies. The rapid increase in the total value of goods and services exported by LDCs during the 2000s came to an abrupt halt in 2008, in the wake of the global financial crisis. Prices of commodities dropped in 2013 and 2014, resulting in declining total export values for the LDC group. LDCs were still able to show a 5.9% growth in volume terms. However, the growth rate of imports outpaced that of exports, leading to a new high overall trade deficit of US$60.6 billion in 2013, up from US$53.6 billion in 2012.

5.2. The share of LDC exports in world merchandise trade stood at 1.2% in 2013, more than double its share in 1995 (0.5%). The participation of LDCs in services exports is still very low (0.7%) compared to their participation in merchandise exports. Moreover, the present situation represents only a modest increase compared to 1995 participation (0.4%), reflecting, amongst others, a lower supply capacity in services compared to goods.

5.3. LDC exports remain highly concentrated in a few products, mainly primary commodities for merchandise exporters and tourism receipts for commercial services exporters. The 2003-2011 boom in commodity prices increased particularly the weight of fuels and mining products leading to a decline in the share of agricultural and manufacture products for the LDC group. Despite falling prices in 2014, fuels and mining products still accounted for 56% of LDC merchandise exports in 2014 as compared to 32% in 1995. Services exports have remained undiversified, with travel and transport comprising nearly 70% of LDCs' commercial services exports in 2013. On a more positive note, the communication services sector has been expanding in a few LDCs, though from a small scale.

5.4. The direction of LDC merchandise exports has witnessed developing economies outweighing developed economies. The increasing demand for primary goods characterised the rapid growth of emerging economies over the past 20 years, especially in Asia. While most of LDC exports were directed to developed economies in 1995, 57% of them are now going to developing economies. China continues to be the top destination for total LDC exports, accounting for 23% of LDC exports in 2013. The EU remains the top destination for agricultural and manufacture products. Intra-LDC trade also increased, especially in Africa. It now represents 5% of LDC exports, which is likely to be an underestimation due to lack of data.

5.5. Despite the growth of export revenues, the LDC group continues to register a trade deficit; the sole exception were the three years prior to the global economic crisis (2006, 2007 and 2008). The overall favourable trade balance recorded in those three years was the result of huge surpluses enjoyed by the fuel exporters. While this LDC sub-group was still able to record a surplus in 2014 and cover 131% of their import bill through export revenues, the remaining LDCs could only finance 56% of their imports using export revenues and therefore had to look for additional sources of hard currency (especially official assistance and remittances). The trade balance situation is particularly negative for the sub-group of agricultural exporters, which were able to finance only 33% of their imports through exports in 2014.

5.6. The LDC group is also characterized by a structural deficit in trade in commercial services, which amounted to US$42 billion in 2013 and where export receipts could only cover 43% of imports. Travel, i.e., tourism, is the main source of services revenue and registers a net surplus. Mode 4 (presence of natural person) is another source of net exports, but it cannot be satisfactorily measured due to lack of data. According to the scant available information, the bulk of LDCs' services exports is concentrated in low- to middle-skilled services sectors such as tourism and transport, while the participation in higher segments of services trade such as finance, insurance, royalties and licence fees remains negligible.

5.7. After significant improvements in market access opportunities for LDC exports to developed countries over the past decade, additional progress remained somewhat limited in the recent years. As has been reported in the past, most developed Members today grant either full or nearly full duty-free access to LDC products. In fact, almost 100% of agricultural products exported by the LDCs are imported free of duty by the developed countries. However, in the case of manufacturing exports from LDCs, in particular clothing exports, which are the most dominant

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 51 - manufacturing item for the Group, the proportion of duty-free imports by developed countries was about 75% over the recent years.

5.8. The average tariffs faced by LDCs on their key products in developed markets declined rapidly during 1996-2000. Thereafter, average tariffs decreased only slowly in recent years. They are now close to zero in the case of agriculture and manufactures (other than textile and clothing products). The margin of preference for LDCs relative to other developing countries exports is high for agricultural products (nearly 7 percentage points) but low in the case of clothing and textile products (slightly above 1 percentage point).

5.9. An increasing number of developing countries have also taken concrete steps to improve market access opportunities for LDC exports. However, overall information on developing countries' preference schemes remains limited. Based on available information, the margin of preference granted to LDCs relative to MFN treatment increased rapidly after 2006. In 2013, the margin of preference was on average of 5 percentage points, excluding oil. Clothing and textiles exports received the highest preference margin (9.6 and 6.8 percentage points less than MFN tariffs, respectively). The margin was also significant on agricultural products at about 4 points.

5.10. The forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December 2015 offers an opportunity for Members to improve market access for LDC goods and services. Another key component for fostering LDCs' participation in world trade is lowering their trade-related costs, which are generally much higher than for other countries. Enhanced efforts from, and increased collaboration with, development partners are required to address these constraints for better participation of LDCs in world trade.

______

ANNEX

Annex Table 1: Merchandise exports and imports of LDCs by selected country grouping, 2014 (Million dollars and percentage)

Exports Imports Value Annual percentage change Value Annual percentage change 2014 1995-2014 2012 2013 2014 2014 1995-2014 2012 2013 2014 LDCs 207,164 12.0 0.8 3.6 -2.1 265,678 11.4 10.6 8.9 5.3 Exporters of agricultural products 17,399 7.9 1.6 14.9 3.8 53,232 11.3 20.4 11.2 5.4 Afghanistan 571 6.7 14.1 20.1 10.8 7,729 17.1 39.2 -3.8 -11.4 Benin 2,010 8.6 2.3 29.6 7.5 2,481 6.5 10.4 31.9 -20.0 Burkina Faso 2,489 12.3 -9.0 7.9 5.7 3,730 11.7 33.0 21.9 -4.4 Burundi 125 0.9 8.1 -29.6 33.0 769 6.5 -0.2 8.0 -5.2 Central African Republic 90 -3.3 5.3 -25.0 -40.0 255 2.0 3.2 -21.9 1.9 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Comoros 25 4.5 -24.4 0.6 29.3 275 8.1 -1.2 4.1 -3.5 Ethiopia 4,437 13.2 0.6 41.0 8.8 18,987 15.9 33.9 25.1 27.4 Gambia 108 10.5 25.2 -10.6 2.1 370 3.8 11.6 -7.8 5.6

Guinea-Bissau 162 10.6 -46.3 7.7 15.9 228 1.1 -25.0 1.2 23.7 - 52

Kiribati 5 -1.7 -32.4 14.8 -19.1 95 5.4 18.3 -10.5 -2.2 Liberia 583 -1.8 25.2 21.7 4.2 1,046 3.9 -3.8 14.4 -9.0 Malawi 1,374 6.6 -17.0 2.1 13.7 2,973 10.1 -2.8 20.5 4.5 Rwanda 736 14.7 27.3 19.0 4.7 2,457 13.1 12.8 0.1 6.8

Sao Tome and Principe 17 6.7 10.2 5.9 33.4 170 9.7 -1.8 15.8 11.6 Solomon Islands 450 5.3 19.5 -10.4 0.4 509 6.5 3.7 7.2 -2.3 Somalia 510 6.0 3.8 -3.7 -1.9 1,300 8.7 0.0 8.3 0.0 Timor-Lestea 20 - 133.2 -47.9 24.6 940 - 108.3 26.9 11.5 Togo 1,350 6.9 11.5 15.8 -11.3 2,800 8.5 8.8 12.0 5.0 Uganda 2,274 8.8 9.2 2.1 -5.6 5,874 9.5 7.3 -3.7 1.0 Vanuatu 63 4.3 -18.7 -29.6 62.9 311 6.4 -2.6 5.7 -0.8 Fuel exportersb 102,536 14.8 -2.1 -1.2 -8.1 78,307 14.3 11.3 9.1 6.5 Angola 62,400 16.1 5.6 -4.0 -8.6 28,320 16.9 17.2 11.1 7.5 Bhutan 555 9.3 -20.7 1.6 2.1 810 11.0 -5.0 -8.3 -10.9 Chad 3,600 15.2 -8.3 -13.6 -5.3 4,300 13.9 6.1 14.3 7.5 Equatorial Guinea 12,600 27.3 16.3 -6.4 -14.3 6,500 23.3 15.4 -6.7 -7.1 Myanmar 11,031 14.4 -3.9 26.5 -1.8 16,226 14.1 2.0 30.9 34.7 Sudan 4,350 11.4 -60.1 17.8 -9.2 9,211 11.2 -0.1 7.5 -7.1 Yemen 8,000 7.7 -14.4 0.0 -3.6 12,940 11.7 17.9 0.2 -2.7

Exports Imports Value Annual percentage change Value Annual percentage change 2014 1995-2014 2012 2013 2014 2014 1995-2014 2012 2013 2014 Manufacture exporters 46,062 11.9 4.5 15.4 7.4 72,396 10.1 1.2 8.0 10.8 Bangladesh 30,405 12.0 2.8 15.9 4.4 42,268 10.2 -5.6 8.5 14.0 Cambodia 10,800 14.3 16.9 18.0 16.8 13,500 13.7 22.0 12.8 5.5 Haiti 917 11.8 6.3 8.6 3.6 3,600 9.4 5.0 7.4 5.8 Lesotho 925 9.7 -17.0 -12.9 9.2 2,208 3.7 4.0 -15.4 0.4 Madagascar 2,126 7.8 -4.7 26.8 10.6 3,259 9.1 6.5 5.3 0.0 Nepal 889 5.1 -0.9 -3.5 1.2 7,561 9.6 5.0 8.3 15.1 Exporters of non-fuel mineralsc 38,215 10.4 6.4 1.9 1.5 54,122 10.9 14.1 8.1 -2.4 Congo, Dem. Rep. of 6,900 8.1 -4.5 -1.6 11.3 6,600 11.2 10.9 3.3 4.8 Eritrea 766 12.2 11.6 -31.3 132.1 1,127 4.9 2.1 6.2 9.4 Guinea 1,400 3.7 -9.3 0.0 7.7 2,032 4.9 7.0 -6.8 -3.3

Lao People's Dem. Rep. 2,650 11.9 3.7 -0.3 17.1 3,300 9.5 27.1 -1.2 9.3 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Mali 2,100 8.6 9.9 -10.4 -10.2 3,977 9.0 3.3 9.7 4.6 Mauritania 1,946 7.5 -3.9 0.4 -26.6 2,666 10.1 26.8 -2.7 -12.4

Mozambique 4,725 19.2 7.0 4.4 17.4 8,747 14.2 37.6 16.2 -13.4 - 53

Niger 1,500 9.1 16.0 10.3 -6.3 2,250 9.9 -13.2 6.3 11.4 Sierra Leone 1,886 22.2 220.8 70.9 -1.6 1,489 13.6 -6.6 11.0 -16.4 Tanzania 4,645 10.6 17.2 -20.5 5.3 12,390 11.1 5.1 6.8 2.2 Zambia 9,696 12.5 4.0 13.1 -8.5 9,545 14.7 22.7 15.4 -6.1 Diversified and othersd 2,951 5.8 0.6 5.1 5.9 7,621 8.6 9.1 5.2 3.1

Djibouti 139 13.0 27.3 1.4 16.2 970 9.4 10.5 27.5 34.8 Senegal 2,812 5.6 -0.4 5.3 5.5 6,639 8.5 8.9 3.5 -0.3 Tuvalu 0 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 12 4.0 20.0 -53.3 -14.3 Worlde 18,421,813 7.1 0.2 2.1 0.6 18,568,550 7.0 0.4 1.3 0.8 a Time series data start in 2003. b Includes exports of electricity (Bhutan). c Includes exporters of gold (normally classified in n.e.s. according to the UN Standard International Trade Classification) and diamonds (normally included in manufactures according to the UN classification). d Includes exporters without a clear specialization in a specific category of goods. e Excluding re-exports of Hong Kong, China; including EU-intra trade. Source: WTO Secretariat.

Annex Table 2: Export prices of primary commodities, 1995–2015, Q2 (Indices 2005=100)

2014 2015 1995 2000 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Food and beverages 104 80 87 100 110 127 157 136 153 182 175 175 171 176 181 168 160 Food 102 81 88 100 111 127 157 134 150 180 176 178 170 177 181 166 158 Cereals 117 78 95 100 122 159 222 161 166 230 236 218 180 191 198 167 164 Wheat 116 75 96 100 126 167 214 147 147 207 206 205 187 195 211 172 169 Maize 125 90 107 100 124 166 227 168 189 297 303 263 196 214 217 177 176 Rice 111 71 69 100 106 116 243 205 181 192 202 180 148 153 142 151 146 Barley 109 81 110 100 123 181 211 135 167 218 251 217 154 171 176 140 128 Vegetable oils and protein meals 98 72 96 100 103 143 193 154 170 209 216 206 191 203 212 180 169 Meat 78 79 82 100 95 99 103 98 117 134 132 136 159 143 156 174 165 Beef 73 74 76 100 97 99 102 101 128 154 158 155 189 162 165 213 216 Lamb 70 70 99 100 96 101 106 91 91 93 63 66 81 77 84 83 81 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Swine meat 93 88 79 100 94 94 96 82 110 132 122 128 152 137 170 167 133 Poultry 75 80 90 100 94 106 115 116 116 118 128 141 149 142 148 153 154 Seafood 128 112 84 100 121 113 113 114 140 139 113 160 162 186 171 150 141

Fish 118 90 74 100 125 112 119 121 151 146 117 166 163 191 171 146 142 - 54

Shrimp 159 180 117 100 105 116 91 85 98 115 97 136 160 166 172 165 138 Sugar 123 81 77 100 133 102 117 152 172 211 175 148 146 144 154 151 136 Bananas 77 73 65 100 118 117 146 147 153 169 171 161 162 164 161 163 158 Oranges 63 43 81 100 98 114 132 108 118 102 99 111 90 89 96 89 85 Beverages 121 78 80 100 108 123 152 154 176 206 167 147 178 168 181 183 180

Coffee 152 76 59 100 112 129 150 132 165 231 180 147 185 168 193 188 192 Cocoa beans 93 59 114 100 103 127 167 187 203 193 154 158 198 191 200 209 193 Tea 76 115 90 100 112 98 125 145 146 160 161 123 110 115 103 108 114 Agricultural raw materials 115 93 93 100 109 114 113 94 124 153 133 136 139 141 142 138 134 Timber 103 90 86 100 108 107 109 102 101 111 107 107 109 110 111 110 106 Cotton 178 107 115 100 105 115 129 114 188 280 162 164 151 170 168 140 125 Wool 105 83 113 100 104 144 138 115 153 234 215 196 178 186 182 177 167 Rubber 105 46 72 100 140 153 174 128 243 321 225 186 130 150 141 122 108 Hides and skins 134 122 104 100 105 110 98 68 110 125 127 144 168 164 167 169 172 Minerals and non-ferrous metals (excluding 72 59 58 100 156 183 169 136 202 229 190 182 164 171 165 166 154 crude petroleum) Copper 80 49 48 100 183 194 189 141 205 240 217 199 187 191 185 190 180 Aluminum 95 82 75 100 135 139 136 88 114 126 106 97 98 90 95 105 104 Iron ore 44 44 49 100 119 130 219 285 522 597 457 482 345 429 365 321 263 Tin 84 74 66 100 119 196 250 184 276 353 286 302 297 307 313 297 269 Nickel 56 58 65 100 163 251 143 99 148 155 119 102 114 99 125 126 107

2014 2015 1995 2000 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Zinc 75 82 60 100 237 235 137 120 157 159 141 138 157 147 150 167 162 Lead 65 47 53 100 132 265 215 177 221 246 212 220 215 216 215 224 205 Uranium 42 30 40 100 171 355 230 167 165 201 175 138 120 126 107 111 135 Total of above 93 74 76 100 123 140 151 127 161 190 171 169 162 167 168 161 153 Energy 34 54 55 100 119 132 185 117 147 201 203 196 180 195 197 185 142 Natural gas 39 60 63 100 115 117 174 110 113 154 171 165 160 169 165 153 152 Crude petroleum 32 53 54 100 121 133 182 116 149 204 208 201 184 200 203 191 142 Coal 77 53 57 100 104 138 266 149 206 254 202 177 149 163 155 144 134 All primary commodities 51 59 61 100 121 135 172 121 152 197 191 186 173 184 186 176 146

Note: Beginning with the first quarter of 2011, the crude oil price index is computed excluding West Texas Intermediate (WTI), in order to better reflect prices in international trade. The price of WTI, which accounts for one third of the IMF's original crude oil index, became largely dislocated from international markets in early 2011. Although suited for measuring oil price worldwide, the WTI inclusion in a crude oil price index would however considerably distort an index meant to measure oil prices in

international trade. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Source: IMF commodity prices.

- 55

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 56 -

Annex Table 3: Leading merchandise exports of LDCs in 2014a (Million dollars and percentage)

LDC exports World exports

Product Value Share Exports to LDCs' HS07 in Total Share Description Developed Developing Exports Value in Economies Economies World

TOTAL All Commodities 205,434 100.0 85,937 119,099 15,849,325 1.3 27 Mineral fuels, 96,233 46.8 28,228 68,005 2,593,810 3.7 mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 2709 Petroleum oils and 80,852 39.4 25,020 55,832 1,347,127 6.0 oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude. 2711 Petroleum gases 11,398 5.5 2,199 9,199 379,063 3.0 and other gaseous hydrocarbons. 2710 Petroleum oils and 2,366 1.2 870 1,496 688,427 0.3 oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic c 61 Articles of apparel 21,143 10.3 19,592 1,475 182,604 11.6 and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted 6109 T-shirts, singlets 6,307 3.1 5,856 428 33,810 18.7 and other vests, knitted or crocheted. 6110 Jerseys, pullovers, 6,230 3.0 5,775 427 51,735 12.0 cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, knitted or crocheted. 6104 Women's or girls' 2,441 1.2 2,309 125 23,432 10.4 suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear), knitted or crocheted. 6105 Men's or boys' 1,100 0.5 1,019 77 7,485 14.7 shirts, knitted or crocheted.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 57 -

LDC exports World exports

Product Value Share Exports to LDCs' HS07 in Total Share Description Developed Developing Exports Value in Economies Economies World

62 Articles of apparel 17,530 8.5 15,775 1,692 180,151 9.7 and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted 6203 Men's or boys' 6,560 3.2 5,995 548 39,176 16.7 suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear). 6204 Women's or girls' 4,207 2.0 3,857 332 47,055 8.9 suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear). 6205 Men's or boys' 2,754 1.3 2,441 303 14,248 19.3 shirts. 71 Natural or cultured 16,629 8.1 2,122 14,507 472,929 3.5 pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals cladwith precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin 7102 Diamonds, whether 1,737 0.8 1,541 196 124,207 1.4 or not worked, but not mounted or set. 26 Ores, slag and ash 9,375 4.6 1,812 7,447 229,563 4.1 2601 Iron ores and 3,596 1.8 491 3,105 130,602 2.8 concentrates, including roasted iron pyrites. 2603 Copper ores and 2,729 1.3 216 2,513 49,720 5.5 concentrates. 2606 Aluminium ores and 890 0.4 683 102 4,126 21.6 concentrates. 2605 Cobalt ores and 621 0.3 0 621 656 94.6 concentrates. 74 Copper and articles 6,741 3.3 1,168 5,573 134,919 5.0 thereof

7403 Refined copper and 4,315 2.1 1,076 3,239 53,508 8.1 copper alloys, unwrought. 44 Wood and articles 4,594 2.2 183 4,410 124,686 3.7 of wood; wood charcoal 4403 Wood in the rough, 3,766 1.8 46 3,720 20,061 18.8 whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 58 -

LDC exports World exports

Product Value Share Exports to LDCs' HS07 in Total Share Description Developed Developing Exports Value in Economies Economies World

03 Fish and 2,848 1.4 1,759 1,081 94,486 3.0 crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates 0306 Crustaceans, 1,056 0.5 846 207 22,439 4.7 whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of crus 0303 Fish, frozen, 817 0.4 253 558 17,580 4.6 excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 03.04. 12 Oil seeds and 2,047 1.0 331 1,716 94,578 2.2 oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder 1207 Other oil seeds and 1,709 0.8 255 1,454 4,513 37.9 oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken. 64 Footwear, gaiters 1,997 1.0 1,758 226 112,742 1.8 and the like; parts of such articles 6403 Footwear with outer 1,154 0.6 1,064 84 52,519 2.2 soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of leather. 09 Coffee, tea, mate 1,986 1.0 1,576 404 39,807 5.0 and spices 0901 Coffee, whether or 1,310 0.6 1,251 54 28,245 4.6 not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion 07 Edible vegetables 1,814 0.9 297 1,514 56,902 3.2 and certain roots and tubers 0713 Dried leguminous 1,428 0.7 127 1,300 8,230 17.4 vegetables, shelled 24 Tobacco and 1,621 0.8 1,076 466 34,585 4.7 manufactured tobacco substitutes

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 59 -

LDC exports World exports

Product Value Share Exports to LDCs' HS07 in Total Share Description Developed Developing Exports Value in Economies Economies World

2401 Unmanufactured 1,569 0.8 1,065 425 10,337 15.2 tobacco; tobacco refuse 76 Aluminum and 1,407 0.7 1,296 112 140,161 1.0 articles thereof 7601 Unwrought 1,299 0.6 1,290 9 45,866 2.8 aluminium 08 Edible fruit and 1,310 0.6 298 1,008 94,025 1.4 nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons 0801 Coconuts, Brazil 629 0.3 52 576 4,951 12.7 nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried 63 Other made up 1,162 0.6 934 228 48,466 2.4 textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles 6302 Bed linen, table 630 0.3 610 19 17,072 3.7 linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen 52 Cotton 990 0.5 71 919 37,619 2.6 5201 Cotton, not carded 882 0.4 57 826 10,293 8.6 or combed 72 Iron and steel 940 0.5 39 900 322,806 0.3 85 Electrical machinery 928 0.5 155 772 2,168,046 0.0 and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles Total of above 191,296 93.1 78,470 112,454 7,162,886 2.7 a Based on imports from LDCs by 112 countries and economies (available reporters) reporting their trade to the United Nations Comtrade database. Source: WTO, based on UNSD Comtrade database.

Annex Table 4: Imports from LDCs by major markets and product groups, 1995-2014 (Million dollars and percentage)

All Commodities Agricultural products Fuels and mining products Manufactures Annual Share Annual Share of Annual percentage Share of Annual percentage Share of Value Value Value percentage Value of percentage Regions and total change total change total change total change major markets* 1995- 1995- 1995- 1995 2014 2014 2014 1995-2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014

Africa 907 12287 100 -10 15 439 3231 26 1 11 181 6881 56 -7 21 285 2019 16 -29 11

South Africa2 331 4401 100 -6 15 79 300 7 5 7 105 3468 79 -9 20 146 627 14 3 8

Nigeria2 107 1970 100 0 19 97 1488 76 0 17 1 414 21 0 44 9 68 3 0 12

Egypt 69 469 100 3 11 57 189 40 7 7 2 248 53 15 29 10 33 7 -8 6

Mali3 49 1240 100 0 22 1 92 7 0 32 24 779 63 0 24 24 369 30 0 19

Zambia 17 1620 100 -18 27 8 14 1 -25 3 4 1458 90 -10 36 4 147 9 -56 21 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

Malawi4 23 529 100 0 19 17 125 24 0 12 2 294 56 0 32 4 110 21 0 20

Kenya4 23 455 100 0 18 13 291 64 0 19 4 42 9 0 14 6 121 27 0 18

Côte d'Ivoire 69 420 100 -62 10 50 289 69 7 10 12 80 19 -33 10 6 49 12 -93 12 - 60

Sudan5 25 266 100 0 15 6 51 19 0 13 3 16 6 0 10 16 78 29 0 10

Ethiopia4 36 34 100 0 0 3 13 37 0 8 2 6 18 0 6 30 15 45 0 -4

Ghana2 32 378 100 0 16 10 164 43 0 18 8 13 3 0 3 14 180 47 0 16

4

Morocco 71 117 100 0 3 69 80 69 0 1 1 8 7 0 12 1 28 24 0 21

Tanzania4 18 233 100 0 15 11 69 30 0 11 1 14 6 0 19 7 148 64 0 18

Senegal6 3 59 100 5 18 2 8 14 -6 10 1 41 69 26 24 1 10 16 -35 17

Mauritius 33 96 100 10 6 16 59 61 7 7 10 0 0 -80 -22 7 37 38 25 10

Americas 5662 27319 100 -12 9 477 982 4 9 4 3262 13040 48 8 1888 13006 48 1 11

North America 5225 23855 100 -15 8 393 900 4 6 4 2933 10142 43 -30 7 1864 12522 52 1 11

USA 4974 19989 100 -15 8 344 740 4 6 4 2843 8870 44 -30 6 1756 10158 51 1 10

Canada 226 3449 100 -14 15 41 139 4 15 7 89 1254 36 -24 15 95 1989 58 -2 17

Mexico 25 417 100 -2 16 8 21 5 -26 6 1 18 4 -77 16 13 375 90 18 19 South and Central America 437 3465 100 16 12 84 82 2 47 0 329 2899 84 12 24 484 14 2 17

Brazil 342 2523 100 26 11 81 36 1 418 -4 250 2232 88 29 12 11 255 10 -2 18

Peru 1 34 100 -86 20 0 1 3 -83 4 0 0 1 -100 - 1 32 96 40 23

Chile 74 505 100 262 11 0 1 0 31 7 71 439 87 431 10 3 64 13 16 18

All Commodities Agricultural products Fuels and mining products Manufactures Annual Share Annual Share of Annual percentage Share of Annual percentage Share of Value Value Value percentage Value of percentage Regions and total change total change total change total change major markets* 1995- 1995- 1995- 1995 2014 2014 2014 1995-2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014

Ecuador 2 35 100 86 16 0 7 20 55 23 1 0 1 -9 -9 1 28 78 97 20

Uruguay 2 236 100 -47 28 0 2 1 48 16 1 227 96 -47 37 2 6 3 -20 8

Venezuela4 0 18 100 0 37 0 2 13 0 29 0 0 0 - - 0 15 87 0 40

Argentina 12 37 100 -16 6 2 14 37 52 11 6 0 1 -38 -13 4 23 62 -33 10

Guatemala 1 2 100 -30 5 0 1 56 -15 11 0 0 0 - - 1 1 44 -43 2

El Salvador 0 7 100 -50 24 0 4 54 -62 - 0 0 0 - - 0 3 46 -18 19

Colombia4 3 58 100 0 19 0 12 21 0 21 1 0 0 -100 -100 2 46 79 0 21

Costa Rica4 1 12 100 0 13 0 2 13 0 16 0 0 0 0 -23 1 10 87 0 13 Asia and WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 Pacific 6764 119668 100 15 16 3171 12926 11 13 8 2885 83569 70 0 19 681 22294 19 171 20

China 862 75665 100 27 27 272 5870 8 28 18 499 54890 73 4 28 90 14905 20 597 31

India 661 14073 100 -2 17 410 3323 24 11 12 107 8816 63 -12 26 141 1172 8 42 12 - 61

Thailand 940 7967 100 -5 12 620 736 9 -19 1 283 6477 81 -8 18 35 752 9 90 17

Japan 1585 6262 100 -9 7 827 812 13 3 0 662 2957 47 -25 8 81 2478 40 17 20 Chinese Taipei4) 406 4839 100 0 15 166 157 3 0 0 214 4573 94 0 19 25 98 2 0 8 Korea, Republic of4 691 4350 100 0 11 70 335 8 0 9 600 3033 70 0 9 21 982 23 0 24

Singapore 668 2116 100 26 6 257 146 7 -2 -3 315 1580 75 27 9 96 373 18 37 7

Indonesia4 193 797 100 0 8 160 459 58 0 6 21 247 31 0 15 11 90 11 0 12

Malaysia 198 1238 100 29 10 95 411 33 -3 8 73 622 50 72 12 28 201 16 19 11 Hong Kong, China 256 640 100 -1 5 143 180 28 4 1 12 4 1 -64 -5 99 455 71 -1 8

Pakistan 189 674 100 20 7 110 357 53 1 6 63 275 41 67 8 16 42 6 -8 5

Australia 52 868 100 7 16 26 67 8 26 5 5 93 11 17 17 20 639 74 16 20

Philippines 54 84 100 -58 2 12 39 46 -13 6 31 1 1 -99 -18 11 44 53 31 7

New Zealand 9 94 100 -3 13 4 33 35 26 12 0 1 1 -95 30 5 61 65 1 14 Europe and CIS 10310 56711 100 11 9 3699 6052 11 8 3 1672 20383 36 -9 14 4803 29442 52 30 10

EU 28 9845 54182 100 12 9 3594 5848 11 17 3 1501 20187 37 -7 15 4619 27775 51 31 10

Norway 74 386 100 -56 9 19 41 11 30 4 26 62 16 -90 5 30 284 73 8 13

Switzerland 91 695 100 11 11 50 162 23 9 6 2 0 0 -89 -17 34 533 77 11 16

CIS 300 1448 100 -3 ... 36 0 ... 143 134 9 -32 ... 120 851 59 2 ...

All Commodities Agricultural products Fuels and mining products Manufactures Annual Share Annual Share of Annual percentage Share of Annual percentage Share of Value Value Value percentage Value of percentage Regions and total change total change total change total change major markets* 1995- 1995- 1995- 1995 2014 2014 2014 1995-2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 1995 2014 2014 2014 2014 Russian Federation2 214 1075 100 0 10 27 361 34 0 16 73 18 2 0 -8 113 696 65 0 11

Ukraine6 79 257 100 -6 7 6 73 28 16 15 70 106 41 -17 2 2 78 30 -2 21

Kazakhstan 4 72 100 -32 16 0 12 17 -18 36 0 10 14 -80 49 4 49 69 27 14

Belarus … 41 100 5 ... … 16 39 -14 ... … 0 0 -98 ... … 25 61 32 ...

Kyrgyzstan4 3 2 100 0 -3 3 0 30 0 -10 0 0 7 0 - 0 1 63 0 -

Azerbaijan6 0 1 100 42 13 0 0 30 -2 - 0 0 3 76 - 0 1 67 74 11 Notes: 1 data for 1995 refer to South African Customs Union.

2 1996-2013 only, as neither 1995 nor 2014 data were available. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60 31996-2012 only, as neither 1995, nor 2014 nor 2013 data were available. 41995-2013 only, as 2014 data were not available. - 62 51995-2012 only, as neither 2013 nor 2014 data were available.

61996-2014 only, as 1995 data were not available.

(*) Regional totals are based on the information available, and may not coincide with aggregated trade figures. Sources: UN Comtrade database and Global Trade Information Services (GTIS).

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 63 -

Annex Table 5: Coverage ratios of imports by exports of the LDCs, 1995-2014 (Percentage)

1995 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 average 1995- 2014 LDC (Least developed 70 83 95 83 96 97 88 84 78 88 countries)a Agricultural exporters 59 40 33 33 34 38 32 33 33 35

Afghanistan 43 12 16 12 8 6 5 6 7 9

Benin 56 64 57 59 62 66 61 60 81 62

Burkina Faso 61 34 37 48 78 100 68 60 67 56

Burundi 45 34 22 17 20 16 18 12 16 21

Central African Republic 98 138 73 44 47 61 63 60 35 75

Comoros 17 33 12 7 9 9 7 7 9 11

Ethiopia 37 39 22 21 27 32 24 27 23 25

The Gambia 9 9 3 22 24 28 31 30 29 15

Guinea-Bissau 18 105 85 60 64 101 72 78 100 72

Kiribati 21 9 6 9 5 9 5 7 6 9

Liberia, Republic of 161 49 42 27 31 35 46 49 56 57

Malawi 85 71 44 59 49 59 50 42 46 55

Rwanda 23 25 26 18 21 23 26 31 30 25

Sao Tome and Principe 17 10 14 8 10 8 9 8 10 10

Solomon Islands 109 75 56 61 55 89 103 86 88 80

Somalia 63 56 40 56 54 43 45 40 39 47

Timor-Leste … … 7 3 7 4 5 2 2 4

Togo 64 65 62 60 58 54 55 57 48 59

Uganda 44 26 40 37 35 38 39 41 39 38

Vanuatu 30 30 25 19 17 22 18 12 20 22

Fuel exporters 120 164 195 139 189 190 168 152 131 165

Angola 248 261 289 180 304 333 300 259 220 267

Bhutan 92 59 67 94 75 65 54 60 69 73

Chad 67 58 324 140 150 145 126 95 84 132

Equatorial Guinea 105 243 539 175 192 208 209 210 194 246

Myanmar 64 68 198 153 182 102 96 93 68 105

Sudan 46 116 71 85 114 110 44 48 47 80

Yemen 123 176 104 68 88 86 63 62 62 84

Manufacture exporters 47 65 62 57 58 60 62 66 64 61

Bangladesh 52 72 67 69 69 67 74 79 72 70

Cambodia 72 72 79 72 76 72 69 72 80 75

Haiti 17 31 32 27 18 25 26 26 25 26

Lesotho 14 27 46 40 38 47 37 39 42 38

Madagascar 81 75 50 33 44 55 49 59 65 55

Nepal 26 51 38 19 17 16 15 13 12 23

Mineral exporters 77 65 66 70 81 77 72 68 71 73

Congo, Dem. Rep. of 179 118 89 90 118 120 103 98 105 106

Eritrea 19 8 2 2 2 45 49 32 68 20

Guinea 86 109 104 99 105 68 58 62 69 88

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 64 -

1995 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 average 1995- 2014 Lao People's Dem. Rep. 53 62 63 72 85 91 74 75 80 74

Mali 57 68 71 71 58 71 75 62 53 68

Mauritania 113 78 44 91 107 111 84 87 73 88

Mozambique 24 31 74 57 65 57 44 40 54 55

Niger 77 72 52 45 46 57 76 79 67 61

Sierra Leone 32 9 46 44 44 20 70 108 127 63

Tanzania 41 48 51 47 51 44 49 36 37 44

Zambia 149 100 71 113 135 125 106 104 102 108

Diversified and others 63 55 43 40 43 41 38 38 39 43

Djibouti 8 15 14 17 23 18 21 17 14 16

Senegal 70 61 45 43 45 43 39 40 42 45

Tuvalu 3 0 0 2 2 1 1 2 3 1 a Weighted average. Note: Coverage ratio of imports by exports = (exports/imports*100). Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 65 -

Annex Table 6: Exports of commercial services of the LDCs by category, 1995 and 2013 (Million dollars and percentage)

Value Share in commercial services Commercial Transportation Travel Other commercial services services services 2013 1995 2013 1995 2013 1995 2013 LDCs 31,500 21.5 23.8 38.8 44.6 39.7 31.6 Afghanistan 3,184 … 10.5 … 1.9 … 87.6 Angola 864 31.8 2.8 0.0 90.6 68.2 6.6 Bangladesh 1,876 15.0 28.7 5.3 7.9 79.7 63.5 Benin 437 25.8 26.2 53.2 41.6 21.1 32.2 Bhutan 123 … 27.0 … 69.0 … 4.0 Burkina Faso 437 17.4 13.0 47.8 20.7 34.8 66.4 Burundi 17 46.2 15.9 32.4 9.1 21.5 75.0 Cambodia 2,700 30.5 12.7 51.7 72.0 17.7 15.3 Central African Republic 32 45.2 7.7 28.2 48.3 26.6 44.0 Chad 227 22.9 3.1 67.8 73.7 9.2 23.2 Comoros 62 15.8 5.2 77.3 65.9 6.9 28.9 Congo, Dem. Rep. of 235 30.0 39.6 30.0 3.1 40.0 57.2 Djibouti 161 56.2 74.1 18.7 13.7 25.1 12.2 Equatorial Guinea 35 … 1.9 … 81.4 … 16.7 Eritrea 133 70.4 27.8 3.1 62.6 26.5 9.5 Ethiopia 2,685 76.9 76.5 5.3 15.6 17.9 7.9 Gambia 211 21.7 32.9 73.4 53.0 5.0 14.1 Guinea 94 75.3 3.1 5.1 0.9 19.7 96.0 Guinea-Bissau 22 18.2 1.8 0.0 32.5 81.8 65.7 Haiti 595 5.1 0.0 91.9 95.5 3.0 4.5 Kiribati 6 11.7 11.9 7.5 69.3 80.7 18.7 Lao People's Dem. Rep. 598 22.8 8.1 76.0 82.5 1.2 9.3 Lesotho 57 7.0 0.9 90.9 69.5 2.1 29.6 Liberia, Republic of 226 78.3 36.1 21.7 63.6 0.0 0.3 Madagascar 1,423 29.8 31.6 26.3 45.4 43.9 23.1 Malawi 110 27.6 17.4 72.4 32.9 0.0 49.7 Mali 327 32.5 0.8 37.3 46.2 30.2 53.0 Mauritania 134 9.1 2.6 57.9 82.7 33.0 14.7 Mozambique 1,579 24.8 35.8 0.0 24.7 75.2 39.5 Myanmar 659 6.5 26.8 42.7 51.0 50.9 22.2 Nepal 962 9.3 3.0 30.0 45.0 60.7 51.9 Niger 77 3.3 7.4 57.8 75.3 38.9 17.2 Rwanda 386 60.6 19.0 21.9 76.1 17.6 5.0 Sao Tome and Principe 18 0.0 1.2 65.1 87.3 34.9 11.4 Senegal 1,225 15.4 11.4 46.1 38.5 38.4 50.1 Sierra Leone 191 13.7 11.3 80.5 26.3 5.8 62.4 Solomon Islands 129 3.9 24.5 44.4 53.6 51.7 21.9 Somalia … … … … … … … South Sudan 240 - 1.3 - 90.8 - 7.9 Sudan 1,023 0.9 13.8 9.7 75.6 89.5 10.6 Tanzania 2,979 0.3 26.4 88.6 57.6 11.1 16.0 Timor-Leste 33 … 2.3 … 70.6 … 27.1 Togo 513 33.9 50.9 19.9 21.7 46.1 27.4 Tuvalu 4 … 11.2 … 68.3 … 20.5 Uganda 2,166 17.9 12.5 75.1 54.6 7.0 32.9 Vanuatu 326 14.8 10.2 60.4 82.9 24.9 6.8 Yemen 1,490 21.9 18.4 35.3 71.7 42.8 9.9 Zambia 488 65.6 50.3 18.5 34.0 15.9 15.7 Memorandum item: World 4,644,377 26.3 19.5 33.7 39.3 54.9

Source: WTO-UNCTAD estimates.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 66 -

Annex Table 7: Major multilateral non-reciprocal LDC preference schemes undertaken by Membersa

Preference Description Duty-free tariff line References granting coverageb (and major country exclusions) Australia Duty- and quota-free entry 100% WT/COMTD/N/18 for LDCs Entry into force: 1 July 2003 Canada GSP – Least-developed 98.6% (dairy, eggs and poultry) WT/COMTD/N/15 Countries' Tariff WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.1 Programme (LDCT) WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.2 Entry into force: 1 January WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.3 2000. Extended until 31 December 2024. China Duty-free treatment for 97% as of 1 January 2015 WT/COMTD/N/39 LDCs WT/COMTD/N/39/Add.1 Entry into force: WT/COMTD/N/39/Add.1/Rev.1 1 July 2010 WT/COMTD/M/93 Chile DFQF scheme for the LDCs 99.5% (wheat, wheat flour and WT/COMTD/N/44 Entry into force: sugar) WT/COMTD/N/44/Add.1/Rev.1 28 February 2014 WT/COMTD/PTA/2/1 EU GSP - Everything But Arms 99.0% (arms and ammunitions) WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.2 (EBA) initiative WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.4 Entry into force: WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.5 5 March 2001 WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.6 WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.7 India Duty-Free Tariff Preference 96.4% as of 1 April 2014 (dairy WT/COMTD/N/38 Scheme (DFTP) products, vegetables, tobacco, WT/COMTD/M/93 Entry into force: copper products, beverages and WT/COMTD/LDC/M/73 13 August 2008 spirits) Iceland GSP – Tariff preferences 91.8% (meat and dairy WT/COMTD/N/17 for the world’s poorest products, eggs, vegetables and countries plants, cereals and starch, other Entry into force: food preparations) 29 January 2002 Japan GSP – Enhanced duty- and 98% (rice, sugar, fishery WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.14 quota-free market access products, articles of leather) WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.15 Entry into force: WT/COMTD/W/150 1 April 2007 Extended until 31 March 2021 Korea, Rep. Presidential Decree on 95% (meat, fish, vegetables, WT/COMTD/N/12/Rev.1 of Preferential Tariff for LDCs food products) WT/COMTD/N/12/Rev.1/Add.1 Entry into force: 1 January 2000 New GSP- Tariff Treatment for 100% WT/COMTD/27 - WT/GC/36 Zealand LDCs Entry into force: 1 July 2001 Norway GSP – Duty - and quota- 100% WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.4 free market access WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.5 Entry into force: 1 July 2002 Russian The GSP scheme, in the 38.4% (exclusions cover a wide WT/COMTD/N/42 Federation context of the Customs range of products, including G/RO/N/84, G/RO/N/84/Corr.1 Union between Belarus, petroleum products, copper, Kazakhstan and the iron ores, textiles, clothing, Russian Federation. leather, footwear) Entry into force: 1 January 2010 Switzerland GSP – Revised Preferential 100% WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.3 Tariffs Ordinance WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.4 Entry into force: WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.5 1 April 2007 Chinese Duty-free treatment for 31.7% Some 131 products WT/COMTD/N/40 Taipei LDCs enjoy exclusive duty-free WT/COMTD/N/40/Corr.1 Entry into force: access, including selected

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 67 -

Preference Description Duty-free tariff line References granting coverageb (and major country exclusions) 17 December 2003 plastic items, raw hides and skins, textile and clothing articles, parts of vehicles, precious stones, etc. Exclusions cover a wide range of products. Thailand DFQF scheme for the LDCs 73.2% WT/COMTD/N/46 Entry into force: 9 April 2015 Turkey GSP 79% (meat, fish, food, steel WT/TPR/S/259/Rev.1 (p.132) Entry into force: products, etc.) 31 December 2005 United GSP for least-developed 82.6% (dairy products, sugar, WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.7 States beneficiary developing cocoa, articles of leather, WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.8 countries (LDBDC). The cotton, articles of apparel and Trade Preferences clothing, other textiles and Extension Act of 2015 textile articles, footwear, (Title II) authorizes GSP watches, etc.) until December 31, 2017 and makes GSP retroactive to July 31, 2013. (AGOA) 97.5% WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.3 Entry into force: WT/L/754 18 May 2000 WT/L/929 Extended until WT/COMTD/LDC/M/71 30 September 2025 (Title I) Caribbean Basin Trade Duty free for most products, WT/L/753 Partnership Act (CBTPA) including textiles and apparels. WT/L/928 Entry into force: The Haitian Hemispheric 1 October 2000, extended Opportunity through until 30 September 2025 Partnership Encouragement (Title III) (HOPE) Act of 2006 provided new trade benefits, especially of apparel imports from Haiti. The HOPE II Act of 2008 enhanced duty-free treatment for qualifying apparel imports from Haiti. The Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010 provided duty-free treatment for additional textile and apparel products from Haiti. a This table represents a non-exhaustive list of non-reciprocal multilateral market access initiatives undertaken in favour of LDCs. b The DFQF coverage is derived from the most recent notifications or statements made by Members in formal meetings of the WTO when available. If DFQF coverage is not explicitly stated, information on DFQF coverage is taken from the most recent WTO IDB submissions. For certain Members, information on major exclusions could not be derived from the notification or statement. In certain cases, the DFQF coverage differs from Tables 14 and 17 as those take WTO IDB submissions as primary source and the year 2013 as reporting period. Source: WTO Secretariat.

WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60

- 68 -

Annex Table 8: Notification of preferences in favour of LDC services and service suppliers

Notifying Date of notification References Member Australia 29 May 2015 S/C/N/805 Canada 5 March 2015 S/C/N/792 Norway 25 June 2015 S/C/N/806 Korea 10 July 2015 S/C/N/808 China 22 July 2015 S/C/N/809 Hong Kong, China 24 July 2015 S/C/N/810 Chinese Taipei 24 July 2015 S/C/N/811 Singapore 24 July 2015 S/C/N/812 New Zealand 28 July 2015 S/C/N/813 Switzerland 30 July 2015 S/C/N/819 Japan 31 July 2015 S/C/N/820 Mexico 20 August 2015 S/C/N/821 Turkey 03 September 2015 S/C/N/824 United States 03 September 2015 S/C/N/825 India 29 September 2015 S/C/N/833

Source: WTO Secretariat.

______