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Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov25/04) Geneva, 4 Nov (D. Ravi Kanth) — The African Group has announced its priorities for the World Trade Organization’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14), to be held in Yaounde, Cameroon in March 2026, explicitly stating that it places “particular emphasis on the principle of decision-making by consensus, a cornerstone that strengthens the WTO’s legitimacy and credibility to ensure that the multilateral trading system serves the interests of all its Members.” The African Group’s commitment to consensus-based decision-making poses a challenge to ongoing attempts to change the consensus principle, including the WTO Director-General Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s reported statements suggesting that the system is seemingly paralyzed by this principle, according to people familiar with the development. In a restricted document (Job/GC/468), circulated on 31 October and seen by the SUNS, the African Group expressed sharp concern that its participation “in global trade remains markedly disproportionate to its demographics”. While “the continent is home to approximately 16% of the world’s population, it accounts for less than 2.9% of global trade volumes.” The Group underlined “this imbalance”, arguing that it “reflects deep-rooted structural challenges that continue to impede the effective integration of African economies into global value chains (GVCs).” It said the “key barriers include inadequate infrastructure, limited industrial capacity, fragmented regulatory frameworks, and persistent technological and trade finance gaps.” It said “the WTO must remain an inclusive forum to address development issues with special and differential treatment (S&DT) for its developing Members at the forefront of our discussions.” Despite repeated challenges to both consensus-based decision-making and continuation of self-designated special and differential treatment (S&DT), the African Group reminded the industrialized countries that “there is a renewed sense of urgency to preserve a credible, predictable, transparent, equitable, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system rooted in honest dialogue and full cooperation.” Without mentioning the reciprocal tariffs and other trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, the African Group said a “growing trend of trade-restrictive measures, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, the rise of unilateral tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules is deeply concerning.” It argued that these trade-restrictive measures “are significantly raising production costs, disrupting already fragile supply chains, and undermining the economic recovery of developing countries.” The Group called for “a development-driven agenda at the upcoming WTO MC14, one that empowers the organization to effectively address the pressing developmental needs of its Members, with a particular focus on developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDCs).” Even though there appears to be a proverbial dark cloud hanging over the hosting of MC14 in Cameroon due to continued political turmoil in the country in the past few weeks, it is not clear whether the meeting, if held as per schedule on 26-29 March next year, will produce any credible deliverables, said several people familiar with the development. However, the African Group insisted that “MC14 must be a platform for the adoption of a development-focused agenda that tackles systemic imbalances, fosters economic diversification, and addresses current global trade- related challenges.” AFRICAN GROUP PRIORITIES According to the African Group, “MC14 must deliver a Ministerial Decision/Declaration on agriculture and food security comprising the following elements: * Recognizes the critical importance of Public Stockholding for food security; reaffirms the MC9 Ministerial mandate and the 2014 General Council Decision and provide a clear roadmap and timelines for a permanent solution on public stockholding which must be delivered before the fifteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC15). * Reaffirm the importance of a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), recognise the reaffirmed mandate for an outcome from MC10 and instruct Members to prioritize work for reaching an outcome on this issue, to be concluded ahead of the fifteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC15). * Reaffirm the importance of disciplining trade-distorting domestic support, especially extra aggregate measurement of support (AMS) entitlements, and instruct Members to prioritize work for reaching an outcome that integrates special and differential treatment which must be delivered before the fifteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC15). * Stress the urgency of addressing entrenched asymmetries in the existing rules – including the disproportionate flexibility granted under the domestic support pillar, as well as the exclusive availability of the Special Agricultural Safeguard (SSG) for certain Members. It also called for addressing the long-forgotten issue of “tariff peaks and tariff escalation affecting key exports from Africa through a dedicated work programme.” The Group urged members “to recognize the structural dependence of NFIDCs (net-food importing developing countries) on external markets, and to take actions to correct trade imbalances, and to secure an inclusive NFIDC list.” As regards development, the African Group stated that “substantial progress has been made on work following the MC13 Ministerial Declaration on the precise, effective, and operational implementation of the S&D provisions contained in the SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) and TBT (technical barriers to trade) Agreements.” On another key priority for developing countries, the African Group said that “considerable progress has been made and a clear commitment has been made to complete the ongoing work aimed to operationalize existing provisions on special and differential treatment in the WTO Agreements, in particular Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on the transfer of technology to least-developed country Members, and a temporary waiver from the provisions of Article 2 of the TRIMs Agreement has been granted to developing countries.” The African Group sought “a commitment to continue work on how the WTO can contribute to industrial development through the provision of appropriate policy space to help developing countries integrate more effectively in Global Value Chains.” On WTO reform, the African Group called for “a Ministerial Decision mandate establishing a well-defined scope for the WTO reform agenda”, while prioritizing “existing mandates before launching new initiatives, in a manner that would ensure all Members, especially developing and least-developed countries, benefit meaningfully from the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.” It stressed that “development is central to the objectives set out in the Marrakesh Agreement and must guide all aspects of WTO reform in a cross-cutting manner,” suggesting that “a reform agenda must focus on addressing longstanding imbalances in the existing rules of the WTO and consider the needs of all members.” More importantly, it called for a “Ministerial commitment to restore an accessible and fully functional Dispute Settlement System before the fifteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC15).” On the much-delayed outcomes on electronic commerce, the African Group underscored the need for a “Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WPEC) with a strong emphasis on the development aspects of electronic commerce.” Such a decision, according to the Group, “must provide clear guidance to accelerate work in the WTO’s relevant bodies (CTD, CTG, CTS, TRIPS Council) to bridge the digital divide, boost the digital infrastructure, address anti-competitive digital trade practices and technology transfer, and provide a clear framework to support all WTO Members to benefit equitably from electronic commerce, and provide concrete initiatives and practical tools to empower SMEs to actively engage in the digital trade.” In essence, the African Group communication on MC14 priorities “adopts a political lens on development and S&DT, presenting both as immediate and deliverable outcomes for Ministerial action,” said people familiar with the development. Significantly, “it advocates a development-driven agenda that operationalizes existing mandates for S&DT and links these to urgent issues facing developing countries, especially LDCs, with explicit demands for technical assistance, policy space, and targeted work programmes,” said a trade envoy, who asked not to be quoted. On agriculture, the document is specific and categorical: it prioritizes a permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) for food security, calling for reaffirmation of previous Ministerial mandates and clear roadmaps with deadlines before MC15, alongside outcomes on the Special Safeguard Mechanism, cotton, and tariff escalation, the envoy said. By contrast, the WTO reform proposal of the African Group “takes a more institutional and analytical approach, emphasizing development and S&DT as legal obligations rooted in the Marrakesh Agreement and the Doha Development Agenda,” said another trade envoy from the region. The WTO reform proposal “calls for preserving and enhancing S&DT with a focus on making its flexibilities precise, effective and operational,” and also proposes “the creation of a WTO development index to guide negotiations and resource allocation,” the envoy said. In a nutshell, the African Group treated “agriculture in the broader reform context, centering on re-balancing systemic asymmetries and disciplining trade-distorting domestic support. Consensus-based decision-making is framed as a vital mechanism safeguarding sovereign equality and inclusivity, and the communication supports procedural reforms to institutionalize balanced participation,” the envoy added. Overall, the WTO reform note is more explicit in its mapping of proposals to institutionalize mechanisms for implementation, maintaining a coherent structure that links development, consensus, agriculture, and S&DT to existing legal mandates and newly proposed frameworks, though sometimes lacking the immediacy and outcome- driven clarity present in the MC14 text, the envoy suggested. +
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