TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct20/11)
14 October 2020
Third World Network

South rallies around developmental agenda for WTO reforms
Published in SUNS #9210 dated 14 October 2020

Washington DC, 13 Oct (D. Ravi Kanth) – Many developing countries have rallied around the developmental agenda for WTO reforms, including improvements for simple and effective special and differential treatment, resolution of longstanding issues in agriculture, and an immediate COVID-19 relief package of measures through a waiver from implementing core intellectual property rules, said trade envoys.

At the informal Doha Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting on 12 October, the Group of 33 (G-33), comprising 47 developing and least-developed countries, issued a powerful statement on the mandated agriculture issues such as the permanent solution to the public stockholding programs for food security and the need to resolve inequities in the trade-distorting domestic support, according to statements made at the meeting.

More importantly, India, South Africa, and several other countries called for the waiving off the TRIPS provisions to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

In what appears to be an attempt to scuttle the TRIPS Council meeting taking place on 15-16 October, the chair of the Doha Rules negotiating body, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, has convened meetings of the negotiating body on the same days despite a request from South Africa not to convene the Rules group meeting on these days (see separate story), said people familiar with the development.

At the TNC meeting, the developing countries emphasized the need for restoring the two-stage dispute settlement mechanism, particularly the restoration of the Appellate Body, said participants after the meeting.

In sharp contrast, the developed countries, led by the United States, the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Australia, stuck to their oft-repeated demands for altering key provisions, including the negotiating function of the WTO, and the transparency and notification provisions among others.

The US called for “necessary reform of the WTO,” while the EU, which is a member of the Ottawa group of developed and some developing countries, has signaled the plurilateral initiatives on trade and health, and the sustainability initiative.

Canada, which is the coordinator of the Ottawa group of countries, called for fundamental reforms of the World Trade Organization, while the coordinators of the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) groups on electronic commerce and investment facilitation delivered upbeat progress reports.

The chairs of the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations, the agriculture negotiations, and improvements in dispute settlement among others presented their reports at the meeting.

The chair of the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Wills, claimed that there is some movement in the negotiations.

Ambassador Wills has appointed the Swiss trade envoy Ambassador Didier Chambovey as the facilitator on special and differential treatment (S&DT) in the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations.

The US trade envoy Ambassador Dennis Shea emphasized “the need for a reset of the WTO and an acceptance that the organization needs to undergo fundamental reform after years of limited achievements”, particularly in the area of the negotiating function and market-based practice.

Ambassador Shea also referred to addressing “the uneven liberalization of tariffs and other market access barriers across the membership.”

He asked whether members remain committed to fulfilling basic transparency obligations, and reserve special and differential treatment only to the lowest income countries that are least integrated into the world trading system.

Despite a demand from more than 120 countries for the immediate restoration of the Appellate Body (AB) and the smooth functioning of the two-stage dispute settlement system, Ambassador Shea continued to complain that “it (the AB) assumed more and more authority beyond that envisioned in the Dispute Settlement Understanding.”

For the US, it is important to address some of the foundational questions, including the negotiating function, Ambassador Shea suggested.

The EU suggested that maintaining a positive agenda in these difficult times is “a challenge and it requires strong political will”.

It said that reforming the WTO remains open. The EU suggested that the Ottawa group, in which the EU is a member, is considering promoting two “specific issues” – the plurilateral trade and health initiative, and the sustainability initiative.

In its intervention, Japan said that the fisheries subsidies negotiations is a test case for the WTO’s negotiating function, suggesting that big gaps continue to remain among members. Japan called for agricultural global food security, and global food supply chains among others.

In sharp contrast, the developing countries highlighted their immediate priorities, including the G33 statement issued by Indonesia, and the proposal on effective special and differential treatment issued by the G90 countries among others.

At the TNC meeting, China said that it supports the G33 statement made by Indonesia on food security and other reforms in the global agriculture.

On fisheries subsidies, China said that it is open to discuss any proposal on fisheries subsidies but members must ensure fundamental fairness of the potential outcomes.

China called for prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies while addressing the sustainability goals.

Commenting on the core issues in the “Doha development” dossier, China said it is imperative to address the real concerns of the developing countries such as effective special and differential treatment.

China’s trade envoy Ambassador Zhang Xiangchen called for a real conversation on the G90 proposal, as well as immediate restoration of the Appellate Body.

The Chinese envoy said that the DG selection process must remain transparent and be without any “political influence.”

China delivered a somewhat upbeat statement about the progress in the informal plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative on investment facilitation.

In its intervention, India expressed concern over the K-type of recovery involving a V-shape recovery for the wealthy countries and the other V-shape deceleration in economic growth for the poor countries.

India said the multilateral trading system can play an important role in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic by ensuring equitable supply of medicines.

India urged members to support its joint proposal with South Africa for an exemption from TRIPS commitments in trademarks, industrial designs, patents, and industrial secrets.

India called for removing the restrictive practices on the movement of healthcare professionals, the restoration of the Appellate Body (AB), strong and effective S&DT, and expressed support for the G90 agenda and the G33 statement on agriculture, and strong S&DT in the fisheries subsidies outcome as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6.

It said that making new rules in the plurilateral JSI on e-commerce will create a non-level playing field among others.

In its intervention, South Africa said that “the WTO has a unique opportunity to be part of a global solution on COVID-19 and to deal with the health crisis and restore its credibility.”

“Therefore, it is important more than ever for the membership to work together to define a balanced and effective response to ensure equitable and affordable access to the vaccine, technologies and treatments for the pandemic through the TRIPS waiver,” South Africa said.

Commenting on the outstanding issues in the Doha agriculture dossier, South Africa said “substantial reform of trade distorting domestic support that addresses historical imbalances, concentration, preserve the architecture in Article 6 and deliver on the spirit of Article 20 of the AoA [Agreement on Agriculture] is more urgent given the effects of COVID-19.”

“A meaningful outcome at MC12 should address this, including cotton, SSM and a permanent solution on Public Stockholding for food security purposes,” South Africa said.

Referring to the fisheries subsidies negotiations, South Africa reiterated “the need for a systematic approach to the negotiations with focus on the core disciplines – the sequence of issues is therefore important.”

More importantly, “the aim of the negotiations is not market access but sustainability, therefore the concept of common but differentiated responsibility is key,” South Africa argued.

Disciplines must therefore target large-scale industrial fishing and safeguard food security and livelihoods and allow policy space to develop our marine resources, South Africa said, emphasizing that the outcome must deliver on all the pillars of the mandate, including S&DT.

In relation to S&DT, South Africa said “the Group of 90 countries tabled a new proposal in recognition of the growing COVID-19 crisis that threatens to disproportionately affect developing countries, not only as a health crisis but a devastating socio-economic crisis with much wider effects.”

It called for reinvigorating “substantive discussions in the CTD-SS and deliver on the mandate in paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.”

The G90 group of developing and least-developed countries expressed disappointment over the apparent stonewalling approach being adopted by the developed countries in discussing their specific proposals for making S&DT provisions simple and effective.

It said that it has submitted a revised proposal to step up the discussions so as to reach an outcome at the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, next year.

G-33 STATEMENT

Several developing countries, including China and India, strongly supported the initiative launched by the 47- member Group of 33 countries (G-33) for addressing the “food security issue and uninterrupted flows of agricultural goods to promote food security and for enabling fair trade to developing country producers without distortions in the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

At the informal TNC meeting, Indonesia, which coordinates the G-33 coalition of developing countries, issued the statement to drive home the message of addressing food security and fair trade for the developing country producers hit hard by Covid-19.

The G33 statement states that “the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted every aspect of livelihood and the agricultural sector, particularly in developing countries.”

“Reduced consumer demand, disruption of agri-supply chains is posing considerable challenges to food and livelihood security,” the G-33 said.

It called for “levelling the playing field in agriculture, ensuring the un-disrupted trade flow of food products, [and] enhancement of food production, and efforts to ensure the availability of food reserves is essential to address the food security issue, price volatility, and needs for emergency food distribution during crisis.”

In this context, the G-33 said “WTO Members should ensure the ability of Members to address food security issue and uninterrupted flows of agricultural goods to promote food security as well as to provide to our producers a fair trade without distortions,” suggesting that the agriculture negotiations in WTO should move forward.

Further, the G-33 members said they “are open to dialogues and discussions with the aim to enhance cooperation among members, in particular to advance the agricultural negotiations taking into account the newly revealed challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The developing country coalition said: “Lack of motivation for further negotiation is a fact which members should be more focused on mutual understanding of the conditions for each other.”

Indonesia said “we (the G-33 members) believe that this pandemic has clearly indicated the pressing needs for Members to move forward in the reform of agriculture.”

“It includes commitments in domestic support, in particular on trade distorting domestic support programs, and to work towards delivering the Ministerially-mandated permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes, effective and operational Special Safeguard Measures and special products as well as the other pillars of agriculture. It is important to have meaningful outcomes that are acceptable and effective to all in the long run,” the G-33 emphasized.

On domestic support, the G-33 said that it provides its attention towards the effort in advancing the negotiation of this topic, by way of providing more methods to express the needs of G-33 members which may help to create a common base.