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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Dec22/13) Geneva, 16 Dec (D. Ravi Kanth) — Members of the World Trade Organization on 15 December apparently agreed to host the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February 2024, and the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Cameroon sometime in 2026, said people familiar with the development. At an informal General Council (GC) meeting on 15 December, WTO members apparently agreed to the UAE’s request, even though Cameroon was the first to stake a claim in November 2021, as compared to the UAE’s request made on 15 June 2022, said people who are aware of the two requests. The decision on MC13 has to be formally endorsed by members at a regular General Council meeting that takes place on Monday (19 December). Clearly, the UAE seems to have lobbied hard with key members to ensure that it secured the decision on MC13 in its favour, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Meanwhile, another African country, Kenya, hosted the 10th ministerial conference (MC10) in December 2015. Already, an Arab country, Qatar, hosted the fourth ministerial conference (MC4) in Doha that led to the launch of the Doha Round of trade negotiations in 2001. The Doha work program still remains on the table but some powerful Northern countries led by the United States seemed to have put a stop to the work program at MC10 in December 2015. It remains to be seen whether MC13 in the UAE will prove to be like MC4 in Doha. The UAE, in its request, claimed that it is “one of the world’s most open economies for trade and investment,” arguing that “over the past few years, we have conducted an unprecedented series of structural reforms to further enhance competitiveness and make the business environment more stable and predictable.” Being one of the major oil producers, the UAE said that it “has always been a staunch supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its center,” adding that “we all have a shared responsibility to safeguard the multilateral trading system by injecting stability and building resilience.” The UAE said that it wants to “revive the dispute settlement process and move expeditiously with filling vacancies in the Appellate Body,” but it is not clear that will ever happen due to the current positions of the US. In a similar vein, it called for adopting “effective solutions for fisheries subsidies and non-violation complaints under TRIPS.” It maintained that “the special and differential treatment (S&D) for developing countries continues to be a defining feature of this system and it must be preserved.” With security-driven trade policies, it is also unclear whether the UAE can “safeguard trade and protect the most vulnerable from the effects of ongoing supply chain disruptions.” It expressed the hope that “the WTO provides the central framework to tackle the complex challenges and manage the significant transformations facing world trade.” “Our Conference today comes at a critical time for the multilateral trading system and the decisions we make here will have a lasting impact on the global economy for years to come. It will require vigorous leadership, but it also is what the world expects us to do.” +
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