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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May25/06) Yerevan, 28 Apr (D. Ravi Kanth) — The World Trade Organization’s Director-General, Ms Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, is convening a meeting of the Doha Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 7 May to have “exchanges” with members on the “current trade conjecture”, amid the worsening trade war between the United States and China on account of the unilateral US “reciprocal” tariffs, said people familiar with the development. In an email sent to Heads of Delegation (HoD) on 25 April, seen by the SUNS, the DG informed members that it would be a formal TNC meeting followed by an informal HoD meeting to discuss issues stemming from her consultations with members on the “Road to MC14” on both modalities and substance, including WTO reform, as well as to “share some reflections on the way forward.” Up until now, there has been little or no clarity on the agenda for the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14), to be held in Yaounde, Cameroon, in the last week of March next year. Preparations for MC14 have been seemingly stymied by the unilateral “reciprocal” tariffs imposed by the US on alleged national security considerations, which were found to be inconsistent with the WTO rules, said people familiar with the development. In her email, the DG urged members to “engage constructively in shaping the road to MC14 and to provide feedback, where appropriate, on the reports of the Negotiating Group Chairpersons”, in what appears to be a top-down approach without enabling the members to voice their respective views, said people familiar with the discussions. Even though the DG is merely an international civil servant whose role is clearly defined in the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, Ms Okonjo-Iweala is instructing members “to ensure a productive discussion” while refraining “from reiterating well-known positions and instead focus on forward-looking contributions aimed at advancing our collective work,” said a person who asked not to be quoted. INFORMAL HoD MEETING “During the extended Informal Heads of Delegation meeting,” the DG said, “I plan to have exchanges with Members on the following matters: 1.. Current trade conjecture – update by the Director-General; 2. Outreach activities by the Director-General; 3. Transparency of Secretariat activities and initiatives; and 4. Measures the Secretariat is undertaking in light of current budget constraints.” The DG wants “delegations to keep their interventions focused, and to respect the time limits for interventions.” She proposed three minutes for a delegation statement and five minutes for members speaking on behalf of a group of members. The DG seemingly attended the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC last week together with more than six members from the WTO Secretariat despite the “current budget constraints”, said a person familiar with the development. Aside from a post from the DG on the social media platform X on 23 April, where she disclosed: “Thanks to @ US Trade Rep Ambassador Jamieson Greer and his team for a tough but very productive meeting on the present trade and tariff situation, as well as specific WTO issues including much-needed reforms and repositioning”, it remains somewhat unclear who she had met at the Fund-Bank meetings, where the issues of global trade and the relevance of the WTO figured prominently, said a member who asked not to be quoted. Also, it is not clear what she had conveyed to the USTR, particularly on the US “reciprocal” tariffs, and whether she had insisted that the US cannot bypass the WTO in imposing unilateral tariffs and make the multilateral trade body irrelevant, the member added. The DG’s post on X appears to have raised more questions than answers on what she meant by “much-needed reforms and repositioning”, said another member, wondering whether such reforms and repositioning will be done according to the Trump administration’s allegedly unilateral positions in serving its “America First” trade policies. The US, for example, wants to do away with the principle of consensus-based decision-making at the WTO, as enshrined in the Marrakesh Agreement. Does the DG want members to consider mitigating the “consensus” principle, the member sought to know. In a similar vein, the US had proposed “differentiation” among developing countries for availing of special and differential treatment (S&DT) at the WTO, but its proposal has so far failed to garner consensus. Will the DG, on behalf of the US, seek to flag this issue for MC14, the member asked. It is also not clear whether the DG, in her meeting with the USTR, discussed the issue of reform of the dispute settlement system, particularly restoring the two-tier system with the continuation of the binding Appellate Body, the member suggested. Last but not least, it is not clear whether the DG discussed the fate of phase two of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement and other mandated issues on which the US remains opposed. “UNFAIR TRADING SYSTEM” One of the highlights of the IMF-World Bank meeting last week was the apparent clash between the US on the one side, and China on the other, over issues concerning the state of the global trading system and whether it is serving all its members equitably and fairly, according to media reports. According to a report on a side event at the Fund-Bank meeting in the Financial Times on 25 April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly said that US President Donald Trump had taken “strong action” to address the imbalances of an “unfair trading system”, suggesting that more than 100 countries had responded “openly and positively” to re-balancing the global trading system. In sharp contrast, China, which was present at that G20 dinner table meeting in Washington DC last week, “presented a full-throated defence of the multilateral rules-based order that America itself originally designed,” according to the FT report. According to a separate news report in China’s Global Times on 25 April, “Chinese Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng and Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an delivered key remarks at the second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting of the year, held in Washington DC from Wednesday to Thursday, emphasizing China’s support for multilateralism and coordinated global action to address various challenges.” According to the news report, the G20 finance ministers’ meeting was hosted by South Africa to discuss “the global macroeconomic situation, financial stability, the international financial architecture and the promotion of growth and development in Africa.” It said “Pan warned that economic fragmentation and trade tensions are disrupting global industrial and supply chains, undermining the momentum of global economic growth.” The Global Times report further said: “He emphasized that trade wars and tariff wars have no winners, and urged major economies to strengthen international macroeconomic and financial policy coordination, take substantive actions to promote cooperation, and safeguard global economic and financial stability, according to a release on the website of the People’s Bank of China on Friday.” +
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