Statement in response to media feedback on classification of the UAE among the developed countries in the WTO

 

The United States submitted a communication to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under document WT/GC/W/757 “An undifferentiated WTO: self-declared development status risks institutional irrelevance.” This paper says countries at the WTO should not be allowed to self-declare themselves as “developing countries.” US also notes that developed countries have been severely disadvantaged in the WTO system due to Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) flexibilities that all developing countries enjoy.

 

Under the existing WTO conventions, S&D gives developing countries unilateral flexibility in implementing obligations and enjoins developed countries to treat them favorably. S&Ds are categorized into four: 

According to the US proposal, the WTO’s inability to clearly distinguish developing and non-developing countries among member states causes negotiations to fail. The continued lack of institutional work also puts the WTO on a difficult position before negotiating in disciplines to meet the challenges of today or tomorrow.

 

The US presented the criteria designed to identify developing countries eligible for S&D rather than the countries making the self-delegation themselves. As per the proposal, the UAE is outside the list of countries eligible for S&D. 

 

The Ministry of Economy reiterated that any proposal submitted by any member state should be approved by all WTO members first as required by the set rules. The UAE, assured the Ministry, will cooperate with the organization’s decision and will support any approach agreed on by the developing countries. The Ministry maintained that this latest development, if approved, shall not affect the UAE’s current obligations and interests in the WTO due to the following reasons: