Large majority of developing nations insist on continuing with DDA

Developing countries want the WTO’s Doha Round negotiations to continue in the face of developed-country attempts to wind up the talks with a host of development-oriented issues still unresolved.

by D. Ravi Kanth

GENEVA: A large majority of developing and least developed countries on 17 November rallied around India, China and South Africa to drive home a strong message that the developed countries cannot run away after pocketing the Trade Facilitation Agreement and refuse to address the remaining issues of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) after the Nairobi Ministerial Conference of the WTO, trade envoys told the South-North Development Monitor (SUNS).

At a meeting at the WTO, India, China, South Africa, Jamaica, Lesotho on behalf of the African Group, and several other developing countries ridiculed and dismissed the argument advanced by developed countries that the DDA negotiations are unable to make progress despite full engagement and intensive efforts.

Japan’s trade envoy Ambassador Yoichi Otabe argued that people in Japan will laugh at a joint proposal circulated by China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Venezuela which calls for completing the DDA negotiations based on the “advances” made during the last 14 years.

Tabled on 6 November, the joint proposal, which proposes text for the declaration to be adopted by trade ministers at the 15-18 December Nairobi conference, says: “We [the ministers] particularly welcome the advances made in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), as represented by the Decisions and Declarations we have adopted at our present session. These Decisions and Declarations signify that we have taken yet another step forward in the negotiations and attest to our strong resolve to complete the DDA as has been reaffirmed by our Leaders in the Sustainable Development Goal 17.10.

“The DDA is a significant multilateral attempt to respond to trade and development interests of developing Members and redress the development deficit in the rules resulting from the previous rounds of multilateral trade negotiations. A comprehensive conclusion of the DDA with meaningful and balanced outcomes will provide impetus to global trade liberalization and facilitation, correct the development deficit in the rules resulting from the previous rounds of multilateral trade negotiations, improve the trading prospects of developing Members, and enhance the primary role of the WTO in global trade governance.”

In sharp response to the Japanese ambassador’s statement, India’s trade envoy Ambassador Anjali Prasad asked whether people in Japan laughed when the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was concluded two years ago.

She said when the TFA was concluded, everybody pronounced that the DDA can deliver and the WTO can function for the multilateral good. But now, the same countries are painting a “negative” picture, India said. There is a concerted attempt to paint a doomsday scenario if members continued with the remaining issues in the DDA negotiations, India argued.

The European Union vehemently maintained that they do not want the continuation of the DDA negotiations notwithstanding overwhelming support for the joint proposal by China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Venezuela.

China dismissed the EU’s argument, suggesting that issues such as public stockholding programmes for food security and the agricultural special safeguard mechanism are vital to the livelihood concerns of the developing countries.

India said there is an attempt to deliver outcomes in agriculture based on market access but not on the livelihood concerns of farmers in India and other developing countries.

Disingenuous account

Ambassador Prasad challenged the material basis for a proposal tabled by the so-called Friends of the System (FoS) group that members have been unable to make progress despite full engagement.

The joint proposal tabled by Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong-China, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland, who are all members of the FoS, says, “We regret that despite full engagement and intensive efforts, Members have been unable to progress the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) further and that, most recently, Members could not agree on a Post-Bali Work Programme on the remaining DDA issues as directed by Ministers at MC9 [the ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, held in Bali in 2013].”

India dismissed the FoS proposal on the ground that it is a disingenuous account of the Doha negotiations. For 12 years, it said, there was full engagement on all issues, particularly the TFA. After the TFA was concluded, the developed countries turned their backs and did not engage at all during the last two years. Therefore, it is wrong to argue that there was “full engagement and intensive efforts” over the last two years, India said.

India said “Members have been unable to progress the Doha Development Agenda further and that, most recently, Members could not agree on a Post-Bali Work Programme on the remaining DDA issues as directed by Ministers at MC9” because there was no genuine and sincere effort to engage in issues such as public stockholding programmes and food security.

Once the TFA was pocketed, said India and several other countries, the narrative has been changed by the developed countries, according to the participants present at the meeting.

South Africa said the process adopted by the facilitators (to help advance work on the preparation of a ministerial declaration for Nairobi) is unclear as there are too many overlapping proposals, while some major proponents such as the US and the EU did not even table any proposal.

South Africa suggested that there should be a discussion among the proponents of their proposals instead of subjecting the entire WTO membership to a marathon exercise, according to the participants present at the meeting.

Jamaica asked how members can disregard all the existing mandates and decisions agreed over the last 14 years and start negotiations all over again without reference to those decisions.

Lesotho, on behalf of the African Group, reiterated that there must be an explicit decision at the Nairobi meeting to continue the Doha trade negotiations.

Clearly, the drafting exercise for a ministerial declaration has exposed the stratagem of the developed countries and their intentions to do nothing in the DDA after pocketing the TFA, said a developing-country trade envoy.

In short, the developing and least developed countries can ensure that the DDA negotiations are continued without interruption if they stand united now during the drafting exercise as well as at the Nairobi meeting, trade envoys told SUNS. (SUNS8138)                               

Third World Economics, Issue No. 603, 16-31 October 2015, pp2-3