|
||
|
TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov22/09) Geneva, 16 Nov (D. Ravi Kanth) — Under the banner of “Recover Together” and “Recover Stronger”, the G20 leaders drawn from developed and developing countries on 16 November issued a rather sterling call from Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, reaffirming that the “rules-based, non-discriminatory, free, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system (MTS), with the WTO at its core, is indispensable to advancing our shared objectives of inclusive growth, innovation, job creation, and sustainable development.” Rebuffing the growing attempts at the fragmentation of the multilateral trading system and unilateral security- driven trade policies, the G20 leaders reiterated in their Bali Declaration that the MTS with the WTO at its core is “indispensable to advancing our shared objectives of inclusive growth, innovation, job creation and sustainable development in an open and interconnected world as well as to supporting the resilience and recovery of global economy under strain due to COVID-19 and global supply chain disruption.” The two-day conference hosted by Indonesia’s President, Mr Joko Widodo, sent important messages about strengthening and preserving the multilateral trading system with the WTO as a custodian, notwithstanding the ongoing efforts by the world’s largest economy, namely the United States, to pursue unilateral trade policies that are only bringing a chill to the long-held trade rules. From the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration, which contains a maze of commitments, it is clear that credit goes to Indonesia for ensuring the addressing of the specific concerns of the developing countries, particularly for including strong language on the need for equitable and non-discriminatory trade policies to be pursued at the WTO. More importantly, though the word “protectionism” is not mentioned in the final text, it is clear that the commitments in the trade pillar are aimed at containing protectionism, said an analyst who asked not to be quoted. The G20 leaders of the following countries took part in the two-day meeting: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia (only attended by its foreign minister), Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. WTO REFORM In their Declaration, the G20 leaders reiterated that “reforming the WTO is key in strengthening trust in the MTS.” They maintained that they will “continue to ensure a level playing field and fair competition to foster a favorable trade and investment environment for all.” On the face of it, there is still no clarity on what are the main goals of the proposed WTO reform, as major industrialized countries, including the US, are remaining somewhat silent except for the push for improving the transparency and notification requirements and for adopting “flexible” negotiating approaches centered on plurilateral negotiations. Against this backdrop, the Bali Declaration’s emphasis on a level-playing field and inclusive reforms could not have come a day too soon. It also underscored “the importance of the contribution of the MTS to promote the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).” The Bali Declaration also mentioned the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12), saying that the G20 leaders commit “to seize and advance the positive momentum by engaging in active, constructive, pragmatic, and focused discussions on WTO reform to improve all its functions, including reform of the dispute settlement system, on the path leading to the MC13.” In paragraph 37, the Bali Declaration says that “we believe that trade and climate/environmental policies should be mutually supportive and WTO-consistent and contribute to the objectives of sustainable development.” It appears that the WTO DG and the European Union may have made a strong push for bringing the issue of climate change, which currently remains non-mandated, into the orbit of the ongoing trade negotiations, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Yet, several trade policy experts said bringing climate change issues into the trade agenda is “flawed” and does not augur well for the WTO. According to these experts, trade and climate change is a non-trade issue. Without mentioning the controversial plurilateral Joint Statement Initiatives (JSIs), the Bali Declaration says that, “we recognize the need to promote value addition through sustainable and inclusive investment in highly productive sectors such as downstream manufacturing, digital trade, and services and to foster linkages between foreign investors and local enterprises particularly MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises).” Under the Indonesian Presidency of the G20, an initiative to hold “discussions on policy coherence between trade, investment and industry, and to continue addressing industry-related issues in the broader G20 process, as appropriate,” will be continued. FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS In paragraph seven of the Bali Declaration, the G20 leaders reiterated their commitment to “addressing food insecurity by ensuring accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of food and food products for those in need, particularly in developing countries and least-developed countries.” The Declaration emphasized the support from G20 countries for “open, transparent, inclusive, predictable, and non-discriminatory, rules-based agricultural trade based on WTO rules.” The Bali Declaration also spoke about enhancing “market predictability, minimizing distortions, increasing business confidence, and allowing agricultural and food trade to flow smoothly.” The United States is the largest exporter of food items and its food giants like Cargill dominate the global trade in food commodities. At a time when the negotiations on agriculture were almost undermined at MC12, the G20 leaders reaffirmed the need “to update global agriculture food trade rules and to facilitate trade in agriculture and food products, as well as the importance of not imposing export prohibitions or restrictions on food and fertilizers in a manner inconsistent with the relevant WTO provisions.” The above language, outlined in paragraph seven of the Bali Declaration, seems to divert the discussion from reducing the most trade-distorting support or the aggregate measurement of support (AMS) provided by the European Union and the United States. The Bali Declaration welcomed the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and encouraged its rapid entry into force. So far, not one country has ratified the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies which is part of the Doha work program. DIAGNOSTICS & THERAPEUTICS In paragraph 22 of the Bali Declaration, the G20 leaders, while acknowledging the MC12 Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, merely noted that “no later than six months from the date of the Ministerial Decision on TRIPS Agreement, WTO members will decide on its extension to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics”. Given that the deadline for concluding a decision on COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics will end on 17 December, the G20 leaders could have issued a strong message on this vital issue. Obviously, the industrialized countries may have blocked any strong call on this issue, like on other issues such as WTO reform, new agriculture trade rules, and so on. In conclusion, credit goes to Indonesia for bringing about what appears to be a semblance of peace, commitments against protectionism, and several other key decisions. +
|
||
