Need to accelerate work on all fronts, urges Lamy

Noting that “time is not on our side”, the WTO head has called for a redoubling of negotiating efforts among member states in order to achieve concrete outcomes at the trade body’s yearending Bali Ministerial Conference.

by Kanaga Raja

GENEVA: The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has urged members to “accelerate work on all fronts, shift to a higher gear and work with greater determination” if they want to arrive at the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Bali this December with a relevant package of deliverables.

In his statement at an informal meeting of the WTO’s Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 22 February, Pascal Lamy, in his capacity as Chair of the TNC, noted that there were only about 20 working weeks till the summer recess (in August).

He said: “My sense of the state-of-play, at this stage, is that there is some acceleration but it is still too slow to be comfortable. And time is not on our side.”

The informal TNC meeting took place just before the WTO General Council held its meeting on 25 February.

Citing some meetings he had participated in since members last met in December 2012, Lamy said that during all these meetings the message he heard was that “the Bali Ministerial needs to deliver concrete outcomes. That a mere housekeeping Ministerial will not be in line with the need to strengthen the multilateral trading system.”

Assessment

The TNC Chair went on to give his assessment of where the process stands on three areas which he said are now clearly emerging as deliverables for MC9: trade facilitation, agriculture and development/LDC (least developed country) issues.

On trade facilitation, Lamy said that the negotiating group is continuing to make progress on several complementary tracks.

These negotiations, he said, have three objectives: to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, by clarifying and improving GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) rules and disciplines; to enhance technical assistance and support for capacity building in this area; and to provide for effective customs cooperation.

To achieve those objectives and to set up the successful implementation of a new Trade Facilitation Agreement in the WTO, Lamy said “we all need to mobilize in our capitals the resources and support from Ministries of Trade and Commerce, from customs administrations and from other border agencies, who are the direct responsibility of other ministries, such as finance, industry, agriculture, transportation and so on, as well as from Development Ministries.”

“This points to the great importance of political work in capitals now, to ensure that all the relevant ministries are aware of what we are doing, that they are cooperating to secure the success of the negotiations for the Bali Ministerial, and that they are fully aware of what they will have to do to implement the new Agreement. This political work cannot be left until the last minute,” he stressed.

As to how he sees where things stand, Lamy said that on Section I, which is essentially about building commitments, the onus is on proponents to expedite consensus-building around issues such as advanced ruling, fees and charges, expedited shipments, pre-shipment inspections, to name a few.

“What we need is proponents to accelerate the work which is ongoing to close gaps,” he added.

Lamy said that his sense was that “you should avoid getting lost in the detail of customs procedures and regulations. In negotiating the provisions of the new Agreement, it would be important to stick to achieving the general and shared objective of facilitating trade.”

He added: “The negotiation is not about full harmonization of customs procedures, but about a major step forward towards enhancing existing GATT disciplines.”

On Section II, which is essentially about flexibilities linking to scheduling commitments, the TNC Chair underlined that the main question is to find a “modus operandi” for Category C, i.e., the link between the implementation of commitments and the provision of capacity-building.

According to the TNC Chair, the key here is to find a formula that will provide a credible level of assurances for all.

“And this is important because this agreement represents a new approach to building effective S&D [special and differential treatment] provisions into the WTO. It is more about progressive convergence than about exclusions or exceptions; and its value will extend well beyond the trade facilitation negotiations.”

Lamy noted that needs assessments, and matching up individual needs with donor support from national development agencies as well as multilateral and regional agencies, will be essential in this respect.

“In a nutshell, progress, but we need [to] see the trade facilitation negotiations switch to a higher gear,” said Lamy.

On agriculture, the TNC Chair said that discussions have so far focused on two substantive proposals – one on TRQ (tariff rate quota) administration, and one focused around public stockholding for food security purposes.

On the TRQ administration proposal, and subject to various sensitivities that will need to be addressed at the right moment, members have continued to indicate a willingness to achieve a deliverable for Bali in this area.

On the proposal on public stockholding for food security purposes, Lamy said that there is a two-stage process underway: first, a technical phase which will take place over the next two weeks to enhance understanding of existing domestic programmes in the area of public stockholding and domestic food aid (see following article). This is being done on the basis of the information provided by members so far on a questionnaire which the chair of the agriculture negotiations sent out at the end of last year.

Once this exercise is completed by early March, “it could pave the way for more informed and therefore more efficient discussions around the proposal on the table. The key is to ensure all relevant information is on the table and engage into substantive discussions to better understand the issues at stake.”

Lamy further noted that the secretariat is now also preparing a compilation of information on export competition and export restrictions pursuant to a proposal tabled by the G20 last year.

On development and LDC issues, Lamy said that work in the Special Session of the WTO Committee on Trade and Development (CTD SS) has progressed steadily in accordance with an agreed schedule of fortnightly meetings taking place in an open-ended format.

Discussions have focused on three clusters of issues: the 28 Cancun proposals, the Monitoring Mechanism and the six agreement-specific proposals (relating to the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and Import Licensing Procedures). There have also been additional bilateral, plurilateral and small-group meetings.

“Some progress has been made in all three clusters,” said Lamy.

On the 28 Cancun proposals, Lamy said that members have initially focused on six proposals which were identified as ones affected by developments since their adoption “in principle”. This will be followed by a consideration of the remaining 22 proposals.

Members have also continued their discussions on the elements of a Monitoring Mechanism on S&D.

Lamy said that negotiations are progressing well although “some sticky issues remain, especially the varying interpretations that members have on the mandate.”

Lamy further said that the CTD SS has also been actively considering six agreement-specific proposals relating to the SPS Agreement and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. “Some progress has been made on this work and I very much hope that the remaining divergences can be addressed quickly.”

With regard to Category II proposals that were referred to other WTO bodies, Lamy said that the chair has held consultations with the secretariats of the concerned bodies and will soon be circulating a report based on his assessment of the state of play on these proposals.

The key here, he stressed, is to redouble efforts in consultation as well as flexibility from all sides.

On the LDC-specific issues (preferential treatment to services of LDCs, duty-free quota-free market access, cotton), “we are awaiting the proposals from the LDC group, so that work can commence on them.”

Lamy also said that on the extension of the transition period for LDCs to implement the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), “the key is to give due consideration to the proposal on the table rapidly, given that the July deadline on this matter is fast approaching.”

Of course, he said, focus on these areas does not mean that work in the other negotiating bodies will be put on hold until the end of MC9.

“As you yourselves have often repeated, Bali is not the end of the line,” Lamy told the membership, adding that discussions need to continue on all fronts and that he will continue to meet regularly with all the negotiating group chairs to explore how members ensure that each area optimizes its role for MC9 and beyond.

The TNC Chair also reported that he has started a first round of consultations on the post-Bali scenario under two assumptions: one, that Bali delivers; and two, that these consultations do not detract from the main goal of delivering in Bali.

“I will continue with these consultations over the coming weeks and will report to the membership at a later stage,” Lamy said.

A number of delegations spoke following the TNC Chair’s statement. (SUNS7532)             

  Third World Economics, Issue No. 539, 16-28 Feb 2013, pp 10-11, 14-15