Doha Round Briefing Series -- 13/13

This briefing, published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), details the stalemate within the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the mandate to strengthen 'special and differential treatment' (S&D) provisions for developing countries as part of the Doha Round.

• The WTO's 'special and differential treatment' (S&D) framework consists of approximately 155 provisions across various agreements, which were intended to provide developing countries with policy flexibility and preferential market access. However, many of these provisions were written in non-mandatory language, making them unenforceable under WTO dispute settlement procedures.
• The Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) failed to meet three consecutive deadlines (31 July 2002, 31 December 2002, and 10 February 2003) to provide recommendations for strengthening S&D provisions. By February 2003, Members remained unable to agree on how to handle over 85 proposals on the table.
• A fundamental disagreement exists between developed and developing countries regarding the nature of the S&D mandate. Developing countries argue that operationalising S&D requires meaningful changes to WTO Agreement language without being subject to trade-offs in other areas like agriculture. Developed countries contend that significant language changes can only occur through new negotiations and must be open to trade-offs.
• Developed countries, including the US, EU, and Canada, argue that the CTD Special Session is not a negotiating body and should not alter the 'balance of Members’ rights and obligations.' Conversely, developing countries, including Brazil, India, and the Africa Group, maintain that making S&D provisions mandatory implicitly accepts such alterations.
• There is a conflict over whether to prioritize 'Agreement-specific' proposals or 'cross-cutting' issues. Developed countries insist on first establishing criteria for 'differentiation and graduation' because developing country status is self-designated. Developing countries argue that the mandate is limited to reviewing specific provisions and that cross-cutting issues should only be addressed after the specific proposals are operationalised.
• While all parties agreed in principle to create a 'monitoring mechanism' for S&D, they disagree on its purpose and timing. Developed countries want the mechanism to monitor the integration of Members into the trading system and identify technical assistance needs starting in early 2003. Developing countries, specifically the Africa Group, propose a permanent 'Sub-Committee on S&D' to ensure compliance and evaluate effectiveness, to be established after the review of Agreement-specific provisions is finalized.
• On 10 February 2003, the General Council failed to adopt a report from the CTD that requested clarification of the S&D mandate. The US, EU, and Australia reportedly blocked the adoption, with the US arguing that requesting such a clarification would set a bad precedent.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Doha Round Briefing Series -- 13/13. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/wto_doha_treatment.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Doha Round Briefing Series -- 13/13. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/wto_doha_treatment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Doha Round Briefing Series -- 13/13 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/wto_doha_treatment.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentnddoha, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Doha Round Briefing Series -- 13/13}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/wto_doha_treatment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }