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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jun26/11)
WTO: GC chair appoints facilitators to steer reform talks post-MC14 Geneva, 23 Jun (D. Ravi Kanth) -- The chair of the World Trade Organization's General Council (GC) on 22 June announced the nomination of five facilitators to oversee the discussions on WTO reform, who will report to the GC chair - a development that has come about almost three months after the failed WTO's 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, said people familiar with the development. In an email sent to heads of delegations, the GC chair, Ambassador Clare Kelly of New Zealand, indicated that following her consultations "with Members over the past weeks, given the scale of work ahead, as General Council Chairperson I would need to rely on the assistance of facilitators as we transition to the next substantive phase of our work on WTO reform." "For this purpose," she said, "earlier this month, I made a call to Members to nominate candidates, and I received several nominations from across the membership." She thanked all Members that responded to her call and participated in the consultations. "Based on these nominations, and guided by Members' views about the importance of ensuring an appropriate balance of perspectives, including balanced representation between regions and levels of development, and the availability of individual facilitators to conduct productive discussions, I am pleased to inform Members that the following WTO Permanent Representatives have agreed to serve as facilitators in their personal capacity and on an equal footing." The five facilitators who have been chosen to facilitate work on WTO reform include: * Ambassador Ms. Sumathi Balakrishnan of Malaysia, to oversee work on "Foundational Issues"; * Ambassador Mr. Katsuro Nagai of Japan on "Decision-Making"; * Ambassador Ms. Nthisana Motsete-Phillips of Botswana on issues concerning "Development"; * Ambassador Mr Elmer Jose German Gonzalo of Peru on "Level Playing Field Issues"; * Ambassador Mr. Kairat Torebayev of Kazakhstan on "Any new issues arising" from proposals submitted by members. Ambassador Kelly said, "Facilitators will be guided by the principles discussed with the membership in my consultations over the past weeks, which I will reiterate in my statement at the informal Heads of Delegations meeting scheduled for Friday, 26 June, 11 a.m." CONTEXT To recall, many members had opposed the Minister-Facilitators' reports on "WTO reform" at MC14, according to sources familiar with the development. The apparent rejection of the process conducted by the Norwegian facilitator, as well as his recommendations, forced the six Minister-Facilitators to scramble to rework all the issues - changing the practice of decision- making by consensus, differentiation among developing countries for availing of special and differential treatment (S&DT), and "level playing field" issues, said sources familiar with the development. Earlier, the US had raised objections to the proposed facilitator-led reforms, calling for concrete proposals to be submitted after MC14. During the discussions on WTO reform, India apparently proposed: "We instruct our officials to intensify their work with a view to providing concrete and substantive recommendations for action by MC15. We will undertake a mid-term review in advance of MC15 to assess progress and provide further directions." On the modalities, India is understood to have said: "Work will be conducted under the authority of the General Council, and the WTO Reform process shall be Member-driven, open, transparent, and inclusive, and address the interests of all Members." In fact, many developing countries said that the WTO reform facilitators may be appointed by the General Council on the basis of consultations with all Members, ensuring appropriate geographical and development balance for the identified areas including decision-making, development and S&DT, and "level playing field" issues. According to India, the new facilitators appointed after MC14 will lead discussions in areas identified based on Member submissions, contributions, and past Ministerial Decisions/Declarations, said people familiar with the development. "They shall operate under terms of reference agreed by Members and shall be accountable to, and report regularly to, the General Council. Members will develop the rules of procedure to govern the conduct of all Facilitators," India is understood to have said. Many countries also pressed for the facilitators to oversee the process in a holistic manner to ensure coherence and balance across the identified areas and avoid scheduling overlaps. The European Union appears to be a strong proponent of WTO reform along with other industrialized countries, said people familiar with the development. Earlier, China seemingly criticized the US and other industrialized countries on "level playing field" issues. China said that the multilateral trading system is the cornerstone of fairness in international trade, while "weakening the WTO and its core principles - like most-favoured-nation treatment - won't level the playing field." China had drawn several markers on "level playing field" issues, including: * First, a loss of competitive advantage is more and more framed as evidence of unfair competition, and then used as a pretext to abuse trade remedies or resort to protectionist measures. Where WTO rules offer no cover, there have been moves not only to walk away from these rules, but also to undermine the dispute settlement system that enforces them. * Second, with trade-related environmental measures, fairness is too often judged from a domestic perspective, not a global one. By overlooking essential principles like common but differentiated responsibilities, these measures have shifted too much of the adjustment burden onto developing members. * Third, fairness is also used to downplay development considerations. Attempts to fix so-called imbalances may end up widening development gaps or narrowing policy space for developing members. True fairness can't be achieved without giving development concerns their due weight. To move the discussions forward, China said that it would like to highlight four points: * First, uphold multilateralism and stay true to the WTO's core principles. Different understandings of fairness should lead to more engagement like we are having today, not fragmentation. * Second, focus on trade-distorting government measures. Within the WTO's mandate, there is much we can do, such as improving transparency, updating the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and engaging in serious discussions on industrial policies. * Third, fully reflect the development dimension. Developing members - especially least developed countries - must have policy space to pursue economic diversification and development goals. * Fourth, maintain inclusiveness and avoid prejudicing outcomes. We need to respect that members are at different stages of development and have different economic systems. Our discussions will help build understanding and move us toward agreement. +
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