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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov24/09) Geneva, 11 Nov (D. Ravi Kanth) — The chair of the Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Turkiye, on 8 November, informed members that he is “waiting to find common ground on the facilitator-led process”, indicating that he is not proceeding with the appointment of facilitators as proposed by the World Trade Organization’s Director-General, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said trade envoys who asked not to be quoted. In a late email sent to members, seen by the SUNS, the chair wrote: “Following the communication sent by the Director-General and myself of 22 October regarding the suggested way forward in the agriculture negotiations and the invitation to Members to nominate facilitators, I have received expressions of interest from some Members, and I would like to thank them for their nominations.” Ambassador Acarsoy, however, did not provide the names of the countries that had expressed interest, said trade envoys who asked not to be quoted. The chair continued: “At the same time, some members (the African Group, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) have reiterated their concerns with the facilitator-led process, with some indicating that they are still reflecting on the proposed process and consulting with other Members and their Capitals. “Whilst waiting to find common ground on the facilitator-led process, I have decided to convene the next meetings of the CoA (Committee on Agriculture) Special Session and Dedicated Sessions on PSH and SSM on Wednesday, 4 December with the possibility to continue as necessary on Friday, 6 December. We will take stock at this meeting of the state of play in the agriculture negotiations and discuss the way forward with respect to substance and process. “Members will be given the opportunity to report on their consultations as well as to introduce new inputs or submissions. Any Member or group of Members intending to introduce a new written submission is invited to make them available to the Secretariat by close of business, Friday 29 November 2024. “Considering that time is the essence, I will continue my outreach to Members and urge them to redouble their efforts to engage on substance with one another as well as in different configurations, so as to allow proponents and non-proponents to discuss specific negotiating issues and to explore options to make substantive progress in the negotiations.” In short, the African Group, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan seem to have prevailed when they separately upped the ante on the need to decide issues in the Doha agriculture negotiations based on “consensus”, said trade envoys, who asked not to be quoted. In a restricted document (JOB/AG/263), seen by the SUNS, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan elaborated on several elements concerning the controversial facilitator-led process announced by the DG, emphasizing that there was “no consensus both at the informal Heads of Delegations meeting on 21 October 2024, and at the formal TNC [Trade Negotiations Committee] meeting on 10 October 2024”. Unlike the brief letter written by Chad, the coordinator of the African Group, to the DG and the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiations (referred to as the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session, or CoA-SS) on 30 October, the restricted document by India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan provides more clarity on how the agriculture negotiations should be kick-started, said people familiar with the negotiations. More importantly, the three countries proposed that the “agriculture negotiations on mandated issues like PSH (public stockholding programs for food security in developing countries), SSM (special safeguard mechanism for developing countries) and Cotton should take place in the CoA-SS, led by the CoA-SS Chair, in an accelerated timeframe for an early decision and adoption, through an open, inclusive and transparent process, as per the mandate given by Ministers.” The mandate provided by trade ministers at the WTO’s 10th ministerial conference (MC10) in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2015, unambiguously stated that the permanent solution for PSH programs and SSM should be concluded at MC11 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December 2017. An outcome on these two issues hangs in limbo and even at MC13 in Abu Dhabi early this year, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal requested the DG to find a compromise on the permanent solution on PSH when she was seen pushing for an outcome on a non-mandated issue, namely, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, said people familiar with the small-group meeting convened by the DG on 2 March night. Yet, the DG apparently dismissed the concerns raised by the African Group, and the three South Asian countries, said people who asked not to be quoted. It is against this backdrop that India made a lengthy statement at the TNC meeting on 10 October protesting against the DG’s move, said people familiar with the discussions. In the latest restricted document, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan expressed their concerns regarding the decision to commence the facilitator-led process. The three South Asian countries noted that “there appears to be no clear consensus to proceed in the proposed manner,” adding that “Members’ concerns largely remain unresolved, and any actions based on the assumption of consensus would not reflect the collective agreement of the Members to move further. ” More emphatically, the three countries said “there was no consensus both at the informal Heads of Delegations meeting on 21 October 2024, and at the formal TNC meeting on 10 October 2024.” Expressing serious concern over the DG’s apparent push to commence the facilitator-led process, the three countries said “against this background, the communication dated 22 October 2024 inviting nominations from Members for facilitators, thus invariably commencing the facilitator-led process in the agriculture negotiations, sets a concerning precedent for the functioning of the WTO.” “Any decision affecting the WTO’s processes or negotiations need to adhere to established formal procedures within the appropriate bodies, ensuring that all Members can participate under clear and transparent rules,” the three countries stressed. As reported in SUNS #10110 dated 5 November 2024, the African Group said that the appointment of facilitators to jumpstart the agriculture negotiations should be implemented “provided that there is consensus on it among members.” +
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