The deliberations were focused mainly on trade barriers that products from the LDCs have to face. Also, non-fulfilment of other pledges regarding facilitation of trade made by the developed countries also came under sharp criticism.

The LDCs have been losing ground in world trade despite the repeated emphasis on creation of favourable conditions for them. The LDCs' share of the total volume of world trade was two per cent in 1960; one per cent in 1970; 0.8 per cent in 1980; and in 2001 it came further down to 0.4 per cent. Obviously, they could not improve their position in a trade regime dominated by the highly industrialised economies.

The WTO trade ministers' meets at Marrakesh, Singapore, Brussels and Doha committed themselves to allowing duty-free market access of products from the LDCs and integrating them into the multilateral trading system. But in spite of all that, the LDCs are worse off today than they were 40 years ago.

While the LDC expectations thus remain unfulfilled, their obligations are sought to be increased by the developed countries through compliance requirements relating to rules of origin, and labour, workplace and environmental standards.

There have been more discrepancies, which have put the LDCs at a great disadvantage. The developing nations are giving subsidy on their agricultural products but they are asking the LDCs to refrain from doing so. A glaring example of double standard. They are denying access to technology with regard to life-saving drugs whilst transfer of high-grade technology has been totally shut out by self-serving, protectionist barriers.

The LDCs have been very rightly demanding predictable and stable market access in order to increase their share of world trade--an essential prerequisite for removing trade imbalance between the rich and the poor countries. The Cancun conference should address the issue not as a point of theoretical debate, but as a logical demand of the LDCs.