Yaounde: The United States has expressed concern over South Korea and three other World Trade Organization (WTO) members for maintaining their self-declared developing country status, despite their previous commitments to relinquish special and differential treatment (SDT) in WTO negotiations. This announcement comes as a significant point of discussion ahead of the WTO ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a report highlighting this issue as part of a broader call for WTO reform. The report specifically mentioned that between March 2019 and March 2020, Brazil, Singapore, Korea, and Costa Rica had announced intentions to forgo SDT provisions in upcoming WTO negotiations, yet they have retained their developing country status.
The report also addressed China's position, noting that although China announced in September 2025 that it would not seek SDT in future negotiations, further examination raises questions about the sincerity of this pledge. The ability to self-declare as a developing country allows nations to seek various privileges, such as extended timeframes to implement WTO agreements or receive technical assistance.
For over a decade, the United States has advocated for establishing "objective" criteria to determine SDT eligibility in WTO agreements. The U.S. proposal includes creating four specific categories of WTO members that would be ineligible for SDT. These categories include members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or applicants, G20 members, WTO members designated as "high-income" countries by the World Bank, and those accounting for no less than 0.5 percent of global merchandise trade.
The U.S. emphasized the importance of reserving SDT benefits for WTO members that face significant challenges in integrating into the global trading system. USTR Jamieson Greer reiterated the necessity for WTO reform, stating that the organization must evolve to remain relevant as the international trading system shifts towards reciprocity and balance. Greer highlighted that the United States is leading efforts to promote member-driven reform discussions.