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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May22/08) Geneva, 5 May (D. Ravi Kanth) – The World Trade Organization’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12) scheduled for 12-15 June seems to remain shrouded in confusion as to whether it would be a proper negotiating meeting or a non-negotiating event, a conundrum that is likely to be resolved at a stocktaking meeting being planned for early next month, said people familiar with the development. At an informal Doha Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC)/heads of delegation (HoD) meeting on 4 May, the WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that “this is not an ordinary ministerial conference”, underscoring the need for a “streamlined, business-like” MC12. The DG said that delegations need to achieve clarity about how they want to use the meeting, according to a post on the WTO website of some of her remarks made at the TNC. Ms Okonjo-Iweala wants members to finalize outcomes ahead of time to enable ministers to “bless” them at MC12, as well as provide guidance for future work. The DG alluded to a potential deliverable concerning the WTO’s response to current and future pandemics, including on the IP (intellectual property) component. Ms Okonjo-Iweala, however, did not suggest what would be the nature of the meeting if there is no progress on many of the planned deliverables including a proposed agreement on fisheries subsidies, the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) programs for food security, and a host of other issues, said people, who asked not to be quoted. According to a Geneva trade official, a stocktaking meeting is expected to be held in early June to decide on the shape and structure of MC12, with members having stuck to their positions in a disjointed meeting. The DG also struck discordant notes about MC12, suggesting that the recent IMF-World Bank meetings provided some guidance and lessons in the context of geopolitical developments, the official said. However, she is certainly aware that there was no final communique issued at the recent spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank because of the differences among the participants, the official said. The DG apparently called for accelerating work in all areas so that outcomes can be reached in major areas such as fisheries subsidies, the WTO’s response to the pandemic, particularly the TRIPS component, and even on the other unresolved issues such as the current moratorium on levying customs duties on electronic transmissions and so on, said people familiar with the proceedings. As the chair of the Doha Trade Negotiations Committee, the DG said considerable work remains to be done in all areas, urging members to finalize decisions before MC12 scheduled for 12-15 June. At the meeting, the chair of the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, made a power-point presentation highlighting the results from a series of questions posed to some 60-odd members on the various difficult items in the draft fisheries subsidies text. India challenged the findings made by Ambassador Wills, saying that such statistical findings cannot be a basis for making any observations, said people, who asked not to be quoted. At the meeting, the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta from Costa Rica, issued a somewhat downbeat message about progress on the issues, particularly on the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security, the special safeguard mechanism for developing countries, and a proposed work program on domestic support, said people who asked not to be quoted. In his statement at the meeting, the WTO General Council (GC) chair, Ambassador Didier Chambovey from Switzerland, said that he discussed with around 32 delegations the structure of the outcome document for MC12 – either an agreed ministerial statement or a chair’s statement to be issued by the Kazakh trade minister. It appears that a hybrid outcome was suggested involving decisions on issues where work was completed or simply stating issues that need to be further discussed, including the proposed WTO reforms, said people familiar with the proceedings. The GC chair again underscored the need to conduct MC12 in a “streamlined and business-like” manner, a call that appears to have created a lot of confusion among the members. Significantly, it has emerged that the WTO’s response to the pandemic comprising the TRIPS waiver and trade- related measures still remains in uncharted waters. While the discussions on the proposed draft outcome document relating to the TRIPS waiver issued by the DG on 3 May is going to be discussed at a TRIPS Council meeting on 6 May, the negotiations on the trade-related measures to address the pandemic that are being facilitated by Ambassador Dacio Castillo from Honduras seem to have made little progress because of differences among the key members, said people, who asked not to be quoted. The trade-related aspects in the WTO’s response to the pandemic would comprise (1) a factual statement looking at the work on the response to the pandemic, (2) a close look at what is meant by WTO obligations without altering existing rights and obligations, and (3) the future work to be undertaken, said a trade official, who preferred not to be quoted. RESPONSES FROM MEMBERS At the informal TNC meeting, while many members stuck to their nuanced positions, there was no convergence on any of the issues. A large group of members called for the restoration of the Appellate Body and thereby, the two-tier dispute settlement system. India referred to its Prime Minister’s recent statement that India should be allowed to export food grains from its stocks to countries in distress on humanitarian grounds, said people familiar with the development. The DG, in a quick response to the Indian statement, said that she heard about the issue from the Indian minister at the recent IMF-World Bank meetings. STRONG STATEMENT FROM AFRICAN GROUP On behalf of the African Group, Cameroon issued a strong statement clarifying its positions on agriculture, the TRIPS waiver, the WTO’s response to the pandemic, development, fisheries subsidies, and proposed WTO reforms. On the TRIPS waiver, Cameroon said that “the other elements of the proposed waiver particularly diagnostics and therapeutics are equally important to address the COVID-19 pandemic in a holistic manner.” Cameroon said that members “need to work towards MC12 outcomes that respond to the immediate and urgent challenges of food insecurity and loss of livelihoods.” It called for “outcomes” that should be geared “towards addressing existing asymmetries as well as preservation and provision of policy space for Developing Countries to provide the support needed to enhance the productive capacity of, and economic opportunities for, small-scale farmers.” Therefore, “expanding access to Public Stockholding (PSH), addressing trade-distorting domestic support, a special safeguard mechanism (SSM) and a solution for longstanding questions of cotton” remain a priority for the African Group, Cameroon said. Commenting on the issue of the WTO’s response to the pandemic, Cameroon said that the African Group “found resonance with principles articulated in JOB/GC/293 such as recognition of IP barriers, the preservation of policy space for recovery and resilience building, and the acknowledgment that the pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity.” Document JOB/GC/293 tabled by a large majority of countries on 11 February 2022 is a draft ministerial declaration on the WTO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the issue of “development”, which is at the heart of the African Group’s demands, Cameroon expressed sharp concern that none of the ten Agreement-specific proposals on improvements in special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions were addressed so far. It called for a “rigorous approach to resuscitate and give impetus to the discussions on SDT with a view to provide a renewed mandate through a Ministerial Declaration on SDT during MC12.” The African Group provided a detailed critique of the draft fisheries subsidies text, suggesting that the fisheries subsidies negotiations are important for the African Group whose waters are subject to overfishing by foreign vessels. It argued that “the long-standing responsibility of members for overcapacity and overfishing must be duly taken into account in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.” Cameroon said that the African Group remains “committed to an agreement that enshrines the effective and un-conditional enjoyment of appropriate special and differential treatment, as mandated by SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) 14.6.” The United Nations SDG 14.6 calls for prohibiting, by 2020, “certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing, and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation(s).” According to Cameroon, the important elements of an acceptable package must include “a de minimis that includes all our members where necessary, the exclusion of artisanal or subsistence fishing from the scope of this agreement, the strict and unambiguous protection of overfished stocks, the effective sanctioning of industrial and large-scale vessels guilty of illegal fishing, the respect of the sovereignty of States over their waters, and the careful assessment of implications of proposed disciplines on fuel subsidies.” US & EU CALL FOR LOW-AMBITION AGREEMENT After listening to various members’ statements, the US trade envoy, Ambassador Maria Pagan, made a short statement calling on her colleagues to work “pragmatically”. The EU said MC12 cannot be a “business as usual” type of meeting, stating its priorities on fisheries subsidies and proposed WTO reforms. Brussels, however, highlighted the importance of having a decision at MC12 on lifting export restrictions on food procurement by the World Food Programme, which seemingly operates through the big agri-corporations, said people familiar with the EU’s position. However, the EU pushed for decisions to be taken on both agriculture and WTO reforms as work programs, with a view to taking decisions at MC13 that is likely to be held in 2024. The US and the EU are apparently focusing their energies on a low-ambition MC12 agreement, said people familiar with the discussions. Brazil said that it is working on creating some corridors for importing fertilizers, without clarifying whether the fertilizers are to be imported from Russia, said people who asked not to be quoted. In short, there is no clarity yet as to whether MC12 will be a negotiating meeting, or a non-negotiating event due to lack of progress/convergence on many issues.
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