Special and Differential Treatment in the Area of Trade Facilitation

Annex D of the July 2004 Decision of the WTO General Council indicates that "the principle (of  special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries) should extend beyond the  granting of traditional transition periods for implementing commitments. In particular, the extent and the  timing of entering into commitments shall be related to the implementation capacities of developing and  least-developed  Members."  The  objective  of  this  study  is  to  offer  reflections  on  how  special  and  differential treatment for trade facilitation may be shaped by the cost implications of measures included in  the future  agreement.  It  is based  on  findings  of OECD work  on the  costs  of  trade  facilitation measures,  which  confirms  that  different  countries  -  even  at  an  equivalent  level  of  development  -  face  different  situations  and  present  differing  implementation  capacities,  and  points  to  the  relative  complexity  of  implementation of the different measures proposed for inclusion in a future trade facilitation agreement.