The Least Developed Countries And World Trade

One of the most notable changes in the world economy during the past three decades has been the diverging trends in the growth of the developing countries. This book examines the opportunities open to the least developed countries as they design their strategies to accelerate growth and alleviate poverty.

The LDC Waiver is a legal tool that enables WTO Members to sidestep their obligation to treat all services imports equally under the Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) clause through the granting preferential treatment to services and service exporters from a Least Developed Country (LDC). It is similar to the “Enabling Clause” for goods within the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), except that the Waiver only benefits LDCs, not all developing countries. It operates thus as an “LDC-only Enabling Clause for services”. The Waiver only enables preferences, it does not require WTO Members to grant them, nor provide them with specific ideas or tools to facilitate LDCs’ exports into their markets. Four country specific papers related to service exports in Cambodia, Nepal, Senegal and Zambia were undertaken with a view to help identify, design and implement smart mechanisms to facilitate LDCs’ services exports. This paper draws upon the insights and findings of those four country papers to provide a condensed overview that will help LDCs increase their services exports.

Boosting trade opportunities for least-developed countries

This series contains the decisions of the Court in both the English and French texts.

This report looks at progress over the past decade in supporting the integration of least-developed countries (LDCs) into the multilateral trading system. Prepared as the WTO's contribution to the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the report highlights that international efforts to help LDCs increase their participation in global trade are needed more than ever before in view of the enormous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Important progress has been achieved in boosting LDC exports over the last decade by improving market access opportunities for LDCs and by granting them flexibilities in the implementation of WTO rules. Further efforts will be needed to support trade growth in LDCs in the next decade. LDC5 can set a path for allowing LDCs to fully realize their trade potential and to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The integration of LDCs into global trade is still a priority as trade can play an important role in driving economic growth and supporting sustainable development.