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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May25/29) Geneva, 27 May (D. Ravi Kanth) — The World Trade Organization’s Director-General and the chair of the WTO’s General Council (GC) on 22 May issued a rather controversial joint report on the “Revised Road to Yaounde MC14”, highlighting issues centred on WTO reform, including the negotiating function, that appear to be heavily tilted in favour of the industrialized countries, particularly the United States, while giving a secondary status to the mandated issues, said people familiar with the development. In the six-page restricted document (Job/TNC/127), circulated by the DG, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the GC chair, Ambassador Saqer bin Abdullah Al-Moqbel of Saudi Arabia, seen by the SUNS, several issues on the structure, procedures and organizational matters concerning the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14), to be held in Yaounde, Cameroon on 26-29 March 2026, have been addressed. Amidst the WTO and the multilateral trading system being seemingly wrecked by the Trump administration’s unilateral tariffs, MC14 could become a pivotal moment defining the role of the WTO and its continuation as the multilateral trade body governing global trade as per its rules, said several people familiar with the development. The joint communication issued by the DG and the GC chair appears to be a work-in-progress document. Though the General Council had agreed that MC14 will be held over four days, the joint document issued by the DG and the GC chair suggests that “there is a broad support from the Membership for a short, focused and flexible Ministerial Conference.” There were suggestions made for a two-day meeting, an issue that has not been decided one way or the other, said a person, who asked not to be quoted. “GENEVA FIRST PRINCIPLE” According to the document, members need to “finish substantive work in Geneva” under the “Geneva First Principle.” “Ministers to approve outcomes, not negotiate them,” the document suggested. It also suggested that “only issues with real convergence should be taken to MC14 with a deadline in December to decide on those issues.” “All processes should be transparent, inclusive, open, Member-driven and broadly representative of the Membership,” according to the document. To achieve timely outcomes in the next nine months, the convening of a “Senior Officials Meeting” (SOM) has been suggested. However, the document said the SOM should be convened “only when necessary to conclude outcomes.” POLITICAL MESSAGING According to the document, the main messages to be issued at MC14 are: 1. Reaffirm the relevance and resilience of the WTO; 2. Amidst global uncertainty, underscore the need for repositioning and reform of the WTO; 3. Opportunity to highlight African interests, idea of an “African Package” (agriculture, development and policy space for industrial development); On the “MC14 Outcome Document,” it is being suggested that members should “commence drafting only when there is a basis for convergence on messages that might be included as determined by the GC Chairperson following his consultations with Members.” However, the document suggested that “if there is no convergence by the December cut-off date, look at other approaches to record what happens at the Conference.” According to the document, in the area of “WTO Repositioning/Reform”, examples of “topics/themes” include: (1) “Level playing field issues”; and (2) “Negotiating function reform” [which involves doing away with the principle of consensus-based decision-making and differentiation among developing countries for availing of special and differential treatment – both demanded by the US and several other industrialized countries.] In an apparent move to jettison the mandated issues, noting the “strong convergence on advancing WTO reform and need for structured discussions”, the document suggests examples of “topics/themes” that include: A. Commitments from negotiations by Members, including S&DT [special and differential treatment]; B. Negotiating instruments (multilaterals, plurilaterals, others); C. Making decision-making more effective; D. Understanding of and action on previous ministerial mandates; E. Monitoring, transparency and failure to comply with notification obligations; F. DS [dispute settlement] reform – important priority for all Members but question of how to harness considerable progress already made; G. How to ensure that current WTO agreements remain dynamic and relevant (e.g. ASCM, TRIMs, TRIPS among others); H. Future trade rules (tariffs and NTBs, AI, digital, services, sustainability issues, respective trade rules for natural disasters and other emergencies). According to the document, the process to be adopted for addressing these issues is: “designate and delineate areas and issues for reform”; put in place a “Member-driven process (recommend that the GC chair designate overall reform Facilitator)”; “Ministerial Guidance: based on scoping work in Geneva, have a ministerial conversation at MC14 on WTO reform and have Ministers endorse scope of reform as well as modalities and timing.” According to the document, “Members to implement Ministerial Guidance from MC14 in the respective workstreams (including with the assistance of high-level thinkers and leaders) for Ministers to consider and bless at MC15.” OTHER ISSUES The document suggests several other issues, including a few from the previous mandates. Under the heading of “Agriculture (broad importance)”, it says that “all agriculture issues, including PSH [public stockholding], domestic support and cotton” will be pursued in the “Committee on Agriculture in Special Session”. On “fisheries subsidies (bridge remaining gaps in Geneva)”, the document suggests that “Negotiations on Additional Provisions (Fish 2)” will be taken up in the “Negotiating Group on Rules (Note: Many noted domestic efforts to ratify Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and called for its entry into force by June 2025).” As regards “E-Commerce”, the document strangely clubbed together the “Work Programme and Moratorium”, even though it was agreed at MC13 that the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions will expire at MC14 or 31 March 2026, whichever is earlier. The document also highlighted the “incorporation of plurilateral outcomes”, namely, the “Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development” and the “E-Commerce Agreement.” On “development and LDC issues (support for incremental but tangible deliverables)”, the document includes the following items: 1. “Policy Space for Industrial Development”; 2. “Advancing G90 Proposals” ; 3. “Transfer of Technology”; 4. “LDC issues (LDC Graduation, Extension of LDC Services Waiver)”; 5. “Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs”; 6. “DFQF [duty-free quota-free] Market Access for LDCs”; 7. “Work Programme on Small Economies”; 8. “Support for EIF [Enhanced Integrated Framework] and TACB [technical assistance and capacity building]”; 9. “TRIPS Agreement – Review of the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement under Article 71.1”; and 10. “WTO Accessions.” In short, the “possible modalities, substance and way forward” for MC14 seem to be heavily tilted in favour of the “reform” issues, while giving a secondary status to the mandated issues, which have remained unresolved since 2015, said people familiar with the development. +
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