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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul26/14) WTO:
Facilitator moves "foundational issues" toward member-driven
process Geneva, 20 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) -- In response to members' concerns over procedural and systemic aspects of the controversial discussions on reform of the World Trade Organization, the facilitator for "foundational issues," Ambassador Sumathi Balakrishnan of Malaysia, has made several procedural adjustments to foster a member- driven, inclusive, and transparent process, according to people familiar with the development. In a restricted email (ICN/GC/Reform/1), seen by the SUNS, Ambassador Balakrishnan informed members: "in response to Members' feedback that they would welcome greater clarity on the scope of work under this track, distinct from the other WTO reform workstreams, I will begin by inviting Members wishing to do so, to briefly share their views on what they consider to constitute a foundational issue, what they would like the Foundational Issues track to achieve, and their expectations for work under this track." This approach marks a shift from the earlier allegedly opaque and selective member-driven process by the General Council (GC) chair and facilitators to direct discussions based on their own questions. Several trade envoys, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that this previous framework was fiercely challenged, as it mirrored the approach of former GC chair Ambassador Petter Olberg of Norway, who was accused of forcing members to follow arbitrary and asymmetrical directions. Consistent with members' preference for both written and oral contributions to drive the work, Ambassador Balakrishnan proposed an open plenary meeting for 20 July. "A Member will be invited to introduce its submission," she stated. "Following the presentation," she said, "I will open the floor for an interactive exchange with that Member to provide other Members the opportunity to seek clarification and better understand the presented proposal and its underlying rationale." Submissions will be taken up in the following order: * On WTO reform - Communication from the United States (WT/GC/W/984) and Further perspectives on WTO reform - Communication from the United States (WT/GC/W/998); * The EU's submission on WTO reform - Communication from the European Union (WT/GC/W/986) and Further reflections on foundational issues following the Fourteenth Session of the Ministerial Conference (WT/GC/Reform/W/6); * China's position paper on WTO reform under the current circumstances - Communication from China (WT/GC/W/989); * WTO reform: Development-centred priorities for a balanced WTO - Communication from the African Group (WT/GC/W/992); * More relevant, more flexible, more accessible - Communication from the United Kingdom on WTO reform (WT/GC/W/993); * LDC submission on WTO reform - Communication from The Gambia on behalf of the LDC Group (WT/MIN(26)/17-WT/GC/W/991/Rev.1); * Designing together a fairer and more dynamic system - Communication from Japan (WT/GC/Reform/W/8); and * Fundamentals for WTO reform - Communication from the ACP Group (WT/GC/W/975). However, a former African chair of the General Council, speaking anonymously, questioned the sequencing: "It appears somewhat unclear as to why the proposals of the industrialized countries such as the United States, the European Union, and China, are being taken first [and] allowing the countries/coalitions of the South such as the African Group, ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) group and LDC (least-developed countries) coalition [to be] taken afterwards." Ambassador Balakrishnan indicated that "given the two-and-a-half-hour duration of this meeting, I anticipate that we will only be in a position to consider one or two submissions." "I look forward to Members' active participation and constructive engagement," she added. The submissions from the US and the EU seek substantial changes to the foundational issues such as consensus- based decision-making, self-designated special and differential treatment (S&DT), the continuation of the most- favoured-nation (MFN) principle, and advancing plurilateral agreements by bypassing the core rules enshrined in paragraph 9 of Article X of the Marrakesh Agreement. The WTO was originally structured on rules-based negotiating functions, enforcement via the dispute settlement system, and consistent implementation. However, critics argue that the major players are now preparing to replace these rules to reflect their own priorities. "In a matter of 30 years, it appears that the "adults" in the room are no longer ready to follow the rules by finding one excuse or the other, and finally they are preparing the ground to replace the rules to largely reflect their priorities in global trade such as discarding consensus-based decision-making, special and differential treatment, and forcing plurilateral agreements on countries that are least prepared for such radical changes," said several people familiar with the development. +
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