Department of Commerce, Government of IndiaINDIA & WTO
Vol. 13 No. 10-12
A Newsletter of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry
October-December 09
NO CHANGE IN INDIA'S NEGOTIATING POSITION IN AGRICULTURE AND NAMA FIRST PRIORITY TO CONCLUDE DOHA ROUND QUICKLY: ANAND SHARMA
Mr. Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce & Industry,while addressing the media persons in Geneva, onrd 3 December, 2009, emphasised that there was no change in India's negotiating position in Agriculture
and NAMA. When asked for his views on the success of the Ministerial Conference, Mr. Sharma informed that this was the first full Ministerial in the aftermath of the global economic meltdown and the Conference had provided Members with an opportunity to collectively discuss the world economic scenario, challenges faced by the multilateral trading system and to review the working of the WTO.
“While the Conference was not intended as a
negotiating forum, it had provided a useful
opportunity for different groups and caucuses to
assess the direction of the negotiations. India and
its coalition partners were steadfast and united in
their commitment to uphold the development
dimension, the centrality of the multilateral
process and the need to safeguard livelihood
concerns, particularly of the poor and subsistence
farmers in their countries”.
While addressing the Working Session of the
Seventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO on
“The WTO's Contribution to Recovery, Growth and
Development”, Mr. Sharma stated that the first
priority should be to conclude the Doha Round as
quickly as possible. Banking the progress that has
been achieved in reducing tariffs, cutting distorting
subsidies, opening markets and removing non-
trade barriers would go a long way in increasing
world trade and welfare, he said and stressed the
importance of inclusive global development to
shore up demand. Referring to the collapse of
trade finance from September 2008 onwards, Mr.
Sharma emphasized the importance of the WTO
initiatives for aid for trade and trade financing and
underlined the need to rebalance factor
movements and flows of capital and investment and for liberalisation across other factor markets
including greater mobility of labour. Appreciating
the WTO's role in monitoring protectionist trends,
the Minister observed that for the WTO to
contribute to recovery growth and development, it
must be made a more effective institution.
Mr. Sharma also addressed a Ministerial Session of
the Negotiating Committee of the Generalised
System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), which
adopted the Draft Ministerial Decision on
Modalities for the Third Round of Global System of
Trade Preferences negotiations. “India attaches a
great deal of importance to the GSTP process for
optimizing South-South synergies and expanding
trade among developing countries. GSTP has
contributed to an expansion of trade and has also
fostered special and differential treatment to the
exports of the Least Developed Countries. India
participated actively and exchanged tariff
concessions with 14 countries in the first GSTP
Round in 1989. India believes that timely
implementation of the agreement would assist
developing countries in coping with the debilitating
effects of the global economic crisis”, the
Minister said.
STATEMENT BY Mr. ANAND SHARMA, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY MINISTER
Theme: The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment
"It gives me great pleasure to be here for the Seventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO and to share my thoughts on this important theme.
For over a year, the global economy is reeling under the worst crisis of last seven decades. There is a glimmer of hope that the worst is over, but the pace of and path for recovery is far from certain. The IMF's assessment is that recovery will be subdued and slow. Many economists have cautioned that high debt levels could lead to a double dip recession in the US, which could then spread to other countries.
What is inescapable is that the ongoing crisis has triggered a sharp contraction of aggregate demand leading to fairly disastrous consequences for global production and global trade. It is equally clear that it is developing countries which have borne a disproportionate impact of the crisis in terms of employment, livelihood and food scarcity. In the absence of social safety nets, the poor in developing countries have been the hardest hit.
However, even a crisis has its uses. As someone said recently, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste”. The crisis has already taught us several lessons.
In an increasingly globalised economy, good decisions and bad mistakes have spillover externalities.
The global economy today is hard-wired in a way that makes protectionist measures difficult to resort to. That is why, while protectionist tendencies have surfaced during the crisis, they have not swamped the global trading system. Protectionism is a global bad. And yet some persevere in working on ideas of 'green protectionism'. This is a dangerous trend and will only
create fresh tensions in global trade. In our considered view protectionism will be counterproductive and prolong the recession and delay the recovery.
Interdependence is integral to globalization and therefore “beggar thy neighbour” policies are counterproductive. Equally, if we all lower barriers to trade, it yields benefit for all. We therefore have to work together to design a global finance and economic architecture that works
for all.
Globalisation can only retain its legitimacy if it works for all, especially the poorest.
For India, this Ministerial Conference holds a special significance, coming close on the heels of the informal Ministerial meeting in New Delhi, where we saw a unanimous affirmation of the need to conclude the Doha Round within 2010 and a clear recognition that intensifying negotiations based on progress already made was the first step towards bridging the differences that persist on many issues. The meeting triggered intensive engagement which continues today.
However, while we have witnessed some progress, it is clearly insufficient to bring the Round to closure next year. Clearly, there is a need for collective introspection. Let me do some plain speaking. The major focus of the engagement in the last three months has been on non-headline issues. But the reasons for the impasse are precisely the gaps on headline issues. When are we going to address them? A process which does not enable a candid dialogue on such issues is not going to take us to closure in 2010. So, the basic issue is: how do we design a process to break this impasse? I believe we can move forward quickly if we accept four principles.
A major concern of developing countries is that the development objectives of the Round continue to be diluted or ignored. Putting the development back firmly on the agenda would incentivise developing countries to bring more to the negotiations. Major issues like Duty Free Quota free (DFQF), Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Cotton, Preference Erosion, Fisheries subsidies, Mode-4 access in Services, the TRIPS-CBD relationship, need to be dealt with sympathetically as they have a major bearing on the development outcome of the Round.
In the process of bridging gaps, we cannot go back on the broad understandings of the past. Progress has to be based on the foundations already laid in the negotiations in the last eight years.
Demands for additional market access in developing countries have to be based on the development mandate. The mandate cannot be twisted to meet mercantilist expectations.
While we have no problem of engaging in any format to move the negotiations forward, the multilateral process which guarantees transparency and inclusivity has to be the basic mode of negotiations.
This brings me to the subject of the WTO itself. On the eve of the fifteenth anniversary of the WTO, it is the right time for all its Members to reflect on the institution. I believe, we all agree that the WTO is a strong Member-driven institution. However, is the WTO keeping pace with the rapid changes in the global trading system? What more do we need to do to keep it ahead of the curve? The WTO has never shied away from examining itself critically. In 1983, Arthur Dunkel established a panel to report on the multilateral trading system and in 2003, we had the Sutherland Report.
As a founding member of the WTO, India is deeply interested in the continued growth and credibility of the WTO. To this end, India made a submission to the General Council containing proposals to improve the functioning and efficiency of WTO as a rules-based system. These proposals are designed to improve the capacity of WTO to provide better services to its Members without in any way diluting its fundamental deliberative structure based on consensus. The proposal seeks to enhance transparency, inclusivity and efficiency. I am pleased that an overwhelming majority of Members have supported this initiative. We look forward to working with Members to operationalise these ideas.
Together, we comprise the WTO, but the WTO is more than merely the sum of its parts. While the world is exploring new institutional solutions for global economic governance, in the WTO we already have an established rules-based system for managing global trade. It is our collective responsibility to preserve and strengthen it."
STATEMENT BY Mr. ANAND SHARMA, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
MINISTER IN THE RAJYA SABHA
ON “THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE WTO NEGOTIATIONS”
The Doha Round of trade negotiations at
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has
underway since 2001. The years 2007 and
2008 saw intensive discussions and
considerable progress on many elements of
the Agriculture and Non-Agricultural
Market Access (NAMA) modalities.
The July 2008 WTO Mini Ministerial meeting
ended without any agreement on some key
issues like special safeguard mechanism
(SSM) in agriculture and sectoral initiatives
in NAMA.
Following the impasse at the July 2008 Mini-
Ministerial, Members expressed the need
for an early resumption of talks. Based on
subsequent discussions, the Chairs of the
Agriculture and NAMA Negotiating Groups
brought out revised draft modalities on 6
December 2008. The draft modalities are
available at http://www.wto.org.
India has always been a strong protagonist
of the multilateral trading system. We have
consistently maintained that an early
conclusion of the Doha Round is in our best
interests.
Going by the commitment expressed by
world leaders at international meetings for
an early conclusion of the Doha Round,
India took the initiative to re-energize the
on-going discussions, by holding an informal Ministerial Meeting during September
2009. The meeting signalled considerable
political enthusiasm for an early conclusion of
the Doha Round.
Discussions at the WTO have resumed at the
Senior officials' level on technical requirements
and modalities.
The 7 WTO Ministerial meeting was held in
Geneva from 30 Nov-3 Dec, 2009. The general
theme for discussion was “The WTO, the
Multilateral Trading System and the Current
Global Economic Environment”.
The Conference was not a substantive
negotiating round but a platform for Ministers
to review the functioning of WTO, including the
Doha Round, and to discuss issues such as
monitoring and surveillance of disputes,
accessions, Aid for Trade, technical assistance
and international governance.
The main negotiating issues and the key
elements from India's perspective in the Doha
Round are to honour the development
dimension; protecting the interest of poor
farmers and industry and seeking greater
market opportunities for its farmers and
industry.
India has been engaging with coalition groups
to ensure that India's key interests are
maintained.
Lamy urges unity in efforts to conclude
Doha Round next year; Chair underlines
stabilizing role of the WTO amid
economic crisis
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in opening the Seventh
WTO Ministerial Conference on 30 November 2009 in
Geneva, urged members to follow the proverb “unity
is strength”, and expressed the hope that “we come
out of the next few days stronger, more united and
with clear determination to conclude the Round in
2010.”
The Chair of the Conference, Chile's Finance Minister
Andrés Velasco, underlined the stabilizing effect of
the WTO rules and commitments during the current
economic crisis and said that they have prevented a
protectionist spiral similar to that of the Great
depression. He said that the role of the WTO has
clearly been reaffirmed in this crisis, despite doubts
about the functioning of international institutions.
Also addressing the Conference were the Chair of the
General Council, Chile's Amb. Mario Matus; UNCTAD
Secretary-General Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi on
behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon; WIPO
Director-General Dr. Francis Gurry; and International
Trade Centre Executive Director Patricia Francis.
The Chair thanked the assistance of the three Vice-
Chairs of the Ministerial Conference: Federal
Councillor Doris Leuthard, Minister of Economic Affairs of Switzerland; Indonesia's Trade Minister Dr
Mari Elka Pangestu; and Egypt's Trade and Industry
Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
Noting that Federal Councillor Leuthard was due to
be elected as President of the Swiss Confederation
the following day, the Conference elected Norway's
Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to serve the
rest of her term. Also noting that Minister Rachid was
obliged to return to his capital for official business
matters, the Conference elected Zambia's
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati
to take up his functions.
On agenda item 1, “Overview of WTO Activities”, the
Chair, in keeping with WTO tradition, invited
representatives from hosts of previous Ministerial
Conferences to address the Conference (Singapore,
Switzerland, United States, Qatar, Mexico and Hong
Kong, China).
The other speakers in the plenary session were
ministers from the following members: the European
Communities, Sweden, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
Tanzania, Malaysia, Cuba, Egypt, China, New Zealand,
India, Indonesia, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Panama.
Director General's opening statement
Chairman Velasco, Ministers, Dr Supachai, Mr Gurry,
Mrs Francis Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The year 2009 will go down in history as a moment of
great global insecurity. Millions of citizens lost their
jobs. Many more lost their savings. Many of the development gains of the last decades vanished.
But at the same time we saw nations coming together
as never before. The world united to find a response
to the global economic crisis.
The multilateral trading system has also been tested
as never before. It has stood firm and showed
its value.
Though trade has contracted, the WTO's rules and
commitments have ensured that there was no
general rush to protectionist measures. As long as
members continue to follow responsible policies at
home, the WTO system should continue to provide a
global insurance policy against protectionism.
The WTO system can also be an important plank in the
platform for recovery. Getting trade moving again
and keeping trading opportunities open is vital to the
progress of all our members, especially the poorest.
This is why we have worked hard with other
stakeholders on trade finance to counter shortfalls in
liquidity which imperil the trade of developing
countries.
The value of the WTO dispute settlement system has
also been highlighted by the crisis. The ability to
resolve trade disputes peacefully, without resorting
to uncontrolled retaliation, is a huge asset that our
forebears lacked in previous economic crises.
The WTO is you, the 153 members. You have
subscribed to the principles of advancing and
defending open trade within a non-discriminatory
and transparent framework. At Doha, you also agreed
to put development at the heart of the multilateral
trading system.
You are united in the belief that trade can contribute
to sustainable development in the widest sense. That it can generate growth. That it can help provide
decent jobs. That trade can be a powerful tool for
developing countries to fight poverty.
But trade in itself is not a magic potion. For trade to
work, it has to be rooted in a bedrock of domestic
policies that enable its potential gains to be realized.
The commitments we negotiate here need to
complement and support these domestic policies.
Now, more than ever, it is time to reinforce the
message that open trade is not a zero-sum game.
And the WTO is more than a forum for agreeing on
market opening and rules. It is also about ensuring
that our existing rules and agreements work
properly. It is about settling our disputes peacefully. It
is about furthering coherence with other policy
priorities, starting with climate change. It is about
making the case for more open trade. It is about
capacity building.
These are all part of the insurance policy to which you
have collectively subscribed in the WTO. And while
the crisis has proved the value of this policy, it has also
shown that it needs to be adjusted to changing risks.
You will be sharing views on this issue over the next
days and providing guidance for our work.
The single largest adjustment we need to make is to
conclude the Doha Round successfully and soon. This
is not just about its economic benefits, it is also about
our collective ability and determination to preserve
and strengthen the global public good, which is the
multilateral trading system.
There is more than eight years' work on the
negotiating table. This is already a major storehouse
of assets. It contains trade-offs that you have all
fought hard for, compromises you have crafted,
interests you have protected. Of course, the final
balance needs to be found, and there is still hard
negotiating ahead. Time is running out, and it is not
credible at this stage to see issues in isolation from
the work and the achievements of the past eight years.
The moment of truth is fast approaching when you
will have to decide whether the 2010 target can be
met. Political leaders are practically unanimous that
they want to meet it, but reaffirmation is not enough.
Now we need action, concrete and practical action, to
close the remaining gaps.
The Round occupies centre stage in our minds, as it
should; but other necessary updates to our collective
WTO insurance policy must not be overlooked. We
need to improve the ways in which we maintain our
existing agreements. We also need to do more to help
improve the trade capacity of developing and leastdeveloped
countries.
Updating our collective WTO insurance policy
includes extending its coverage. This means giving
more attention to enlarging the WTO family through
accessions, attention both from members and from
those working to become members. There may be no
short cuts, but we should all work to see accessions
move steadily and positively.
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,
A Chinese proverb says “Zhong Zhi Cheng Cheng”:
Unity is Strength. My sincere hope is that we follow
these words of wisdom. That we come out of the next
few days stronger, more united and with a clear
determination to conclude the Round in 2010.
Good luck and thank you for your attention.
Ministers call for speedy Doha Round deal
Ministers from WTO member governments said on 1st December 2009 that the eight-year-old Doha Round negotiations should be concluded quickly, several of
them calling for a political push early in the year so the
talks can end in 2010.
They were speaking in a working session on the
"Review of WTO activities, including the Doha Work
Programme" on the second day of the Geneva
Ministerial Conference, when they also discussed
regional trade agreements, Aid for Trade, countries'
negotiations to join the WTO and some other topics.
The four subjects were suggested in an opening
statement by Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a
session that was chaired by the Conference chair,
Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco.
Doha Round: more than stocktaking?
On the need for action over the coming months, some
delegates such as Australia and Pakistan went further
than their colleagues in arguing that Ministers'
involvement in early 2010 should be more than simply
to take stock of the situation. These members said
Ministers should get down to bridging the gaps on
outstanding political questions.
Some delegations also said a "roadmap" for future
work will be needed. Some speakers envisaged this as
a possible outcome of a week of meetings of senior
officials from members' capitals, already scheduled
to take place in Geneva in the week of 14 December.
This would continue the sequence of monthly senior
officials' meetings set up in response to the urging of
a group of Ministers who met in New Delhi in
September, 2009. Sessions of the various negotiating
groups have also been organized around these senior
officials' meetings.
The result has given the negotiations some structure,
but some delegations such as India said the topics
discussed have only been technical and therefore
have not moved the substance of the negotiations
forward.
Doha Round: bridging the gaps
India called for discussions on "headline" issues, such
as cotton, domestic support in agriculture, and
"mode 4" in services (when the supply of a service
involves workers going into the consuming country).
Singapore referred to seven issues that Mr Lamy
recently highlighted as politically difficult subjects
that need to be settled: in agriculture the special
safeguard mechanism for developing countries,
resolving conflicting proposals over tropical products
and products currently enjoying preferences in richer
markets, and cotton; in non-agricultural market
access (NAMA) bilateral testing of the implications of
various flexibilities, and free trade in individual
sectors; services; rules, including fisheries subsidies;
and intellectual property.
"The days of only nice statements should be over,"
said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann
Fischer Boel.
Several ministers or officials also repeated the
positions that their countries have held for
some time.
Ministers generally acknowledged that quite a lot has
been achieved in the Doha Round since the last
Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in 2005. Most,
but not all, referred to 2010 as the deadline or target
for concluding the Round and indicated that the pace
of the negotiations would have to accelerate if
members were to achieve that.
Minister Rita Lau of Hong Kong, China, urged her
colleagues "to exercise maximum flexibility in the
Doha Round" in the coming months.
Many countries said that the drafts on agriculture and
non-agricultural market access circulated by the
negotiating groups' chairs in December 2008 should
remain the basis for negotiation and that the
development dimension should be retained at the
heart of the Round.
Doha Round: kick-off questions
At the start of the session, Mr Lamy said: "The longer it
takes to conclude the negotiations, the longer the
WTO's insurance policy to guarantee stability and
predictability of market access to governments and
traders alike will remain unsubscribed."
He added: "The amount of progress that has been
made since the last Ministerial Conference, in 2005, is
quite impressive."
Mr Lamy asked: "How do we translate this political will
into concrete action? How do we organize ourselves
to tackle the last few remaining issues, bridge the last
gaps, paving the way for a successful conclusion of
the Round?
"We already have a meeting of senior officials
scheduled for December here in Geneva. Isn't it time
to agree on a calendar of future meetings and to take
a deep breath and push for this last stretch?"
Regional trade agreements
Speakers broadly agreed that the proliferation of
bilateral or regional trade agreements was a concern
for the multilateral trading system. They said
Members need to ensure that the two approaches to
trade liberalisation continue to support each other,
although different speakers had different views
about how to do this.
Some supported putting a mechanism in place which
would ensure the eventual convergence of the two
approaches. However, some rejected the idea of
converting the benefits offered in regional
agreements into the multilateral system.
Some suggested that the new WTO transparency
mechanism - information compiled and distributed on
various agreements - had worked quite well but that it
could still be improved.
Accessions
Several Ministers representing current Members said
they wished to see negotiations to become Members
streamlined so that neighbouring countries with
which they trade actively could join the WTO. They
were particularly keen to see this happen for least-
developed countries. Five observer governments
negotiating membership or waiting to negotiate -
Sudan, Iran, Algeria, Ethiopia and Montenegro - called
for their accessions talks to conclude as quickly as
possible.
Speakers broadly agreed that accession is important
for broadening and strengthening the WTO. But
views differed on how to advance these: through
closer collective attention (the "multilateral" part of
the membership talks) or through the usual practice
of giving priority to bilateral discussions.
Mr Lamy had asked them: "Some questions to help
the debate: are you yourself given the necessary
attention to all of these processes ? Of course there is
political attention - and perhaps too much attention -
to the accession of some countries, but then not
enough to other countries.
"Why is it that some small candidates, some of them
LDCs [least-developed countries], who have already
made a lot of progress in bilateral negotiations and in
internal reform, do not seem to be able to make it in?
Are we doing everything we can to facilitate
accessions? Is there something acceding countries need from members to help them push the necessary
domestic reforms?
"My purpose here is not finger-pointing, but simply to
try to clarify and try to help us enlarging the family, in
a way which addresses the interests of all members."
Aid for trade
Speakers also recognized that providing market
access for developing countries and least-developed
countries is not enough. They said Aid for Trade is
important to address supply-side constraints and
other bottlenecks. Several called for donors to live up
to their commitments.
The question Mr Lamy posed was "How can we
secure future financing of Aid for Trade programmes,
in a time when public treasuries are suffering from the
crisis, but in a time where previously available private
finance has disappeared to support capacity building
in areas like transports or energy infrastructures?"
Other comments
Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day said it is
important to remember that there are some good
stories to tell on trade as well. As an example, he cited
the fact that the share of global trade held by least-
developed countries has more than doubled from 0.6
per cent to 1.1 per cent since 2000.
Ministers show 'political energy' for ending Doha Round
WTO Ministers ended their two-and-a-half-day
Geneva conference on 2 December 2009 having
declared that they want to try to conclude the Doha
Round talks quickly and agreeing to extend
"moratoriums" on electronic commerce and
intellectual property,
Political energy for Doha Round
Although this conference was not designed for
negotiations, almost all ministers said they wanted
the Doha Round talks to achieve an agreement soon,
a large number them calling for this to be done by the
end of 2010.
These calls were made in formal plenary meetings and
in informal working sessions.
"Ministers reaffirmed the need to conclude the
Round in 2010 and for a stock-taking exercise to take
place in the first quarter of next year," the conference
chair, Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco, told
delegations when he summed up the meeting for
delegations.
"There was support for asking senior officials to
continue to work to map the road towards that point.
Gaps remain on substance and there was wide
acknowledgment of the need for leadership and
engagement on the remaining specific issues over the
coming weeks."
He also stressed: "There was strong convergence on
the importance of trade and the Doha Round to economic
recovery and poverty alleviation in developing countries. The development dimension
should remain central to the Round and particular
attention should be paid to issues of importance to
developing countries."
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told a press
conference afterwards that the desire Ministers
expressed to conclude the Doha Round quickly has
provided the "political energy" to organize work for
the coming months.
This work "roadmap" will be drawn up when senior
officials from members' capitals come to Geneva in
mid-December, with the aim of setting the tasks for
the first quarter of 2010.
The date of the end of the first quarter arises because
if members can agree on "modalities" - the formulas
and other outlines that form the blueprint for the final
agreement in agriculture and non-agricultural market
access - by that time, they could reach a final
agreement by the end of the year. Several ministers
repeated their desire to see the talks end by then.
Asked whether this is realistic, Mr Lamy said "my view
is that it's perfectly do-able," but whether or not it will
be achieved is up to the members.
Decisions
"Moratoriums" are agreements not to take certain
actions. In electronic commerce, the ministers are
agreeing not to charge import duties on electronic
transmissions. Since the last time they met in Geneva
in 1998, the ministers have agreed not to impose the
duties from one Ministerial Conference to the next.
The latest decision extends the moratorium further
until the next meeting, which they have decided to
hold in 2011.
A similar extension was agreed in intellectual
property. Members agreed not to bring "non violation" cases to the WTO dispute settlement
process - "non-violation" is shorthand for the
technical question of whether there can be legal
grounds for complaint under the WTO's intellectual
property agreement, even when the agreement has
not been violated.
Members also agreed to hold the next Ministerial
Conference in 2011. It instructed the General Council -
which comprises all members at the level of
ambassador - to hold consultations on the election of
officers (chair, three vice chairs, etc) for the 2011
meeting. And it acknowledged a report from the
General Council on the activities of the various
councils and committees.
Working session: WTO's contribution
Earlier in the day, they held a second working session,
this time on "the WTO's contribution to recovery,
growth and development". (A summary of the first
working session is here.)
Comments covered a wide range of topics, but many
speakers welcomed the WTO Secretariat's recent
series of reports monitoring governments' trade
measures, particularly since the current financial
crisis broke out.
Several speakers saw this monitoring as a new and
useful development in the WTO's role. They said this
is useful both as a means of making information
available, and for countries to exercise peer pressure
on each other to avoid a damaging protectionist
reaction to the economic crisis.
The reports show that "the system has held fast," one
minister said.
They noted that the measures governments have
introduced are within their commitments and in many
cases include further liberalization. Some also
welcomed the fact that some of the reports have
been prepared in cooperation with other
international organizations.
Many speakers also described the swift conclusion to
the current Doha Round negotiations as an essential
stimulus package that does not draw on
governments' budgets and a further insurance policy
against protectionism. Several repeated their call for
an agreement in the Round by the end of 2010.
A few described an additional reason for wanting to
conclude the Round quickly. They said the WTO
should move on to newer issues such as climate
change. A number, from both developed and
developing countries, also called for stronger Aid-for-
Trade and related activities to help developing
countries adjust to economic circumstances and
benefit from the Doha Round's outcome.
Among the other topics mentioned were: trade and
social issues; increasing dialogue with civil society,
strengthening third-party rights in disputes,
sharpening the WTO's analytical ability to look at
value-added aspects of trade, the role of services
liberalization in development and the impact of
sectoral stimulus packages; non-tariff barriers such as
product standards; tackling private sector standards
such as "food miles" and "carbon miles"; regional
trade agreements; technology transfer; trade
finance; promoting equity; investment and
competition policy; speeding up membership
negotiations and making them more transparent.
The comments followed a suggestion from the
conference chairperson, Chilean Finance Minister
Andrés Velasco, that Members discuss: the WTO's
monitoring and analytical function; "coherence" (i.e.,
international organizations working together) and
international governance; institutional and systemic
issues such as how to improve the way the WTO
functions and to ensure that it is transparent for
farmers, businesses and parliamentarians; and other
questions such as the "tremendous challenge of
climate change".
At the end, the chair thanked Switzerland and Geneva
on behalf of the ministers for making the conference
possible.
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report to the
General Council on 17 December 2009 as chair of the
Trade Negotiations Committee, said members should
reserve the last week of March next year for
stocktaking to assess whether concluding the Doha
Round in 2010 "is doable". Expressing the hope that
"2010 is the year in which we build on the foundations
for a safer global economy," he said that "we can and
must make our contribution through clinching a
Doha deal".
Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee
"Since my last report to the General Council on 17
November the WTO has seen a couple of Senior
Official Weeks as well as a fully fledged Ministerial
Conference.
In my last report I provided you with a detailed review
of the year's progress in each negotiating area,
including the state-of-play and outlook beyond 2009.
Today I would like to update you on the activities of
the last couple of weeks, as well as the outlook for our
work during the first months of 2010.
First and foremost, I think we all agree that the 7th
Ministerial Conference represented a welcome
opportunity for members to get together and review
the entire waterfront of activities of this
organization. A word of praise for the Chair who
should be credited with all the positive feedback from
you about the Ministerial. A big thanks also to the
Secretariat team led by Evan who ensured excellent preparation and logistics. Thanks also to our Swiss
and Geneva hosts. The number of bilateral and
plurilateral meetings among Ministers in the
Conference Centre alone reached more than 250 and I
think this is a good indicator of how our political
masters appreciated this occasion to "catch up" and
exchange ideas. Similarly, the level of activity on the
sidelines of the conference was impressive with some
340 representatives of non-governmental
organizations and 210 accredited journalists
providing for a wide range of interesting workshops.
The meeting provided the kind of reality check - on
the substantive as well as political level - that we
regularly need here in Geneva. On the substantive
level, the conference sent a strong signal of
convergence on the importance of trade and the
Doha Round to economic recovery and poverty
alleviation in developing countries. The centrality of
the development dimension was stressed. Ministers
reaffirmed the need to conclude the Round in 2010
and for a stock-taking exercise to take place in the
first quarter of next year. Similarly, there was wide
support for asking Senior Officials to continue to
work to map the road towards that point.
The Ministerial Conference also provided political
impetus in the area of trade capacity building. At a
breakfast on the Enhanced Integrated Framework for
LDCs [least-developed countries], Ministers stressed
the need for ensuring effective delivery and impact
on the ground; ensuring predictable funding, which is
needed now more than ever before; and the need to
move from an interim to a substantive Board, early
next year. This has now translated into action
in Geneva.
Over the past two weeks since the Ministerial
Conference several of the negotiating groups have
been meeting, including these past few days during
the Senior Officials Week. Let me provide you with a
brief overview of the latest developments":
In Agriculture, on templates, Step 1 has moved
toward initial outcomes with some outstanding
issues taken up in the week of 7 December; and delegations are starting to consider Step 2, on
drawing up the draft templates. Separately, there
was a start to the verification process of some base
data. On modalities, the Chair consulted on continued
technical work on the SSM [Special Safeguard
Mechanism] and work was done on tariff
simplification. The Chair intends to continue with the
work on templates in the second-half of January 2010
and to resume his consultations, in various formats,
on the bracketed or otherwise annotated issues in the
present version of the draft modalities in the first two
weeks of February and March.
Since my last report, a NAMA [non-agricultural
market access] week took place during the week of 7
December. Progress was made in clarifying some of
the issues relating to the NTB [non-tariff barriers]
texts under discussion. Work on this issue is focused
and detailed. The next NAMA week has been fixed for early February where the NTB texts will be discussed
again. The Chairman has called for specific input by 20
January and I hope that members will respond to
that call.
On Services, earlier this week, the Chair held a further
Enchilada among senior officials at which there was
positive engagement on a number of service topics.
On domestic regulation, text-based negotiations
continue, with the completion of a detailed
discussion of the chapters of the Chair text, including
consideration of a new proposal by several members.
In the second half of January, an open-ended informal
meeting of the Special Session will be convened in
order to discuss an expected draft proposal for a text
of a waiver for the implementation of LDC modalities.
Regarding Rules, the Group met with the
participation of Senior Officials and heads of
delegation on 25 November. The discussion was
constructive and there was general support for the
Chair's work programme. Last week, the Chair held a
meeting cluster on anti-dumping, horizontal
subsidies and fisheries subsidies. The Group
advanced its review of the draft Chair texts, and
finished its consideration of the fisheries subsidies
roadmap. The Group will hold further meetings in
January and February 2010, at which it will complete
its first review of the draft texts, take up new
proposals on subsidies and fisheries subsidies, and
continue the AD [anti-dumping]/CVD [countervailing
duties] transposition exercise. In short, no
breakthroughs achieved or expected, but solid
technical discussions continue.
With respect to Regional Trade Agreements,
negotiations on systemic issues of RTAs have, as I
reported earlier, unfortunately not progressed this
year. The Chair discussed a way to reinvigorate these
negotiations with Senior Officials last month, possibly
through a parallel work programme in the CRTA
[Committee on Regional Trade Agreements], based
on work done under the Transparency Mechanism for
RTAs.
On Special and Differential Treatment, the Special
Session has been focusing on the Monitoring
Mechanism. As a result of the progress made, the
Chairman has revised his non-paper which will now
form the basis on which work on the Monitoring
Mechanism will continue. In addition, members will
revert to addressing the Agreement-specific
proposals once revised language or new ideas are put
forward by Members. The Chairman will shortly make
a more detailed oral statement on the work carried
out this year in the Special Session, as well as the work
plan over the coming months.
In the area of Environment, following the Chair's
meetings with Senior Officials on 25 November, there
is strong support overall for moving forward on all
parts of the mandate according to the Work
Programme of October 2009 and timeframes
contained therein. On the issue of the relationship
between the WTO and Multilateral Environmental
Agreements (MEAs), many delegations seem to share
the view that the proposals on the table provide a
good basis to develop a text for negotiation as the
next step under the mandate.
As regards the work on Environmental Goods, the
Chair has emphasized the need for broad-based
engagement and substantive inputs to be provided
by members in the lead-up to the February 2010 meeting,
both with respect to the identification of environmental goods of interest and cross-cutting
issues. As several senior officials pointed out when
they met with the Chair in November, work on the
environmental pillar should achieve a level of clarity
and predictability by the time an agreement is
reached on Agriculture and NAMA modalities.
In the area of Trade Facilitation, a complete, draft,
consolidated negotiating text was issued on Monday
14 December in document TN/TF/W/165. This provides
us, for the first time, with a clear picture of what the new agreement will contain. Much still remains to be
done in the next months to move this draft towards a
consensus document, but we are clearly now on the
home stretch.
With respect to TRIPS [Trade-related aspects of
intellectual property rights] Special Session, Trevor
Clarke has recently stepped down as Chair of the
Special Session of the Council for TRIPS on the
negotiation of a Multilateral Register of Geographical
Indications [GI] for wines and spirits. Before stepping
down, he circulated a report on his own
responsibility, document TN/IP/19, for the formal
Special Session meeting of 27 November. This report
describes the work done during his tenure as Chair,
the status of issues and the way forward, including
five guiding principles for further work.
The General Council Chair held consultations which
manifested a consensus among members to appoint
Ambassador Karen Tan from Singapore as Chair of the
Special Session, on a pro tempore basis until the
General Council takes up the slate of names for
Officers to WTO bodies at its meeting in February
2010. The Chair designate has held informal
consultations with small groups of members to listen
to their views and discuss ideas for continuing
informal consultations in the first week of
February 2010.
Turning to the two TRIPS issues on which I have been
mandated to pursue consultations as Director
General, not as Chair of the TNC [Trade Negotiations
Committee] - the relationship between TRIPS and the
CBD [Convention on Biological Diversity] and the
extension of Article 23 GI protection - we have
continued to address the remaining thematic clusters
of questions posed by members. This process
covered the contract-based approach to managing
access and benefit sharing, in contrast with the use of
a disclosure mechanism within the patent system. A
discussion ensued on trans-boundary issues relating
to monitoring and enforcing access and benefit
sharing obligations in foreign jurisdictions.
Delegations also considered possible costs and
benefits of a disclosure requirement, differing as to
whether this would entail additional resources or
training on the part of patent offices, and the impact
on patent applicants.
On how to manage the WTO work on genetic
resources issues vis-à-vis parallel work of the WIPO
IGC and the CBD on a multilateral regime, delegates
had exchanges on the interaction between these
processes, the sequencing issues that arise, and
technical aspects such as definitions of key terms.
Discussion on GI extension concerned the difference
between GI protection under Articles 22 and 23, the
extent of the problem raised by the proponents of GI
extension, the effects GI extension may have in the
market, in particular in third markets, and the scope
of GI extension proposed, including the continuing
application of the exceptions in Article 24 of the TRIPS
Agreement.
The latest discussion considered whether past
experience of higher protection for wine and spirits
could illuminate the expected likely effects of
extending such protection to all products. A
particular concern relates to effects of extension in
third country markets - and in particular even if an
existing producer may be able to continue use of a
term in a home market, to what extent, if at all, will
existing export opportunities be curtailed due to GI
extension.
In the new year we will continue work through the
remaining clusters, after which I will report to the
entire membership at an open-ended meeting.
Let me now share with you some of my thoughts on
the process going forward which I also briefly
outlined in the Green Room meeting yesterday
afternoon. I believe that in order to arrive at the stock
taking at the end of March a combination of elements
are needed:
First, some of you need to intensify the bilaterals,
trilaterals or quadrilaterals beginning as early as
possible in 2010 so that the fruits of these are shared
with the rest of the membership as soon as possible
and feed the multilateral process;
Second, all of the Negotiating Chairs have scheduled
activities starting from the end of January and
running through to March. I think it has been
important to establish this work schedule early to
provide a high degree of transparency as to the
process that is guiding the work of these groups;
Third, I believe our practice of having Senior Officials
in town should be continued starting in the week of 15
February and again in the week of 22 March. As has
been the case in the last quarter of 2009, the Senior
Officials Weeks are built around meetings of the
Negotiating Groups to facilitate their substantive
engagement.
Fourth, at this point I think we should reserve the last
week of March for stock-taking. At this juncture, my
sense is that we should keep open the format and
exact content of the stock-taking while keeping in
mind that, at this stage, the aim of such an exercise is
to assess whether 2010 remains doable.
I hope this combination of elements in terms of the
further process is helpful. But let me also stress that
this process is not, I repeat not, an end in itself. It is
designed to help members to negotiate and engage
on substance, on closing remaining gaps, which is the
sine qua non condition for concluding the Round in
2010.
2009 has been the year in which we lived dangerously.
But collectively we managed to lift our economies out
of the abyss. I hope 2010 is the year in which we build
on the foundations for a safer, more sustainable global
economy. We can and must make our
contribution through clinching a final Doha deal. "
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report on the
Second Senior Officials Week to the Trade
Negotiations Committee on 27 November 2009, said
that “progress has been made on a range of technical
issues across the board, even if for the moment we
have not seen closing gaps in so-called “big ticket
items”, which will need to be accelerated”. He hoped
that the Ministers would give guidance on “how they
see engagement in the Doha negotiations post-
December”.
"
I would like to welcome delegations to this
meeting whose purpose is to provide a “wrap-up” to the Senior Officials' week and to share with you my
assessment of this week's activities, including the
Green Room that I held yesterday afternoon.
I met this morning with the Negotiating Chairs to
briefly exchange views on their evaluation of the past
week and the signals they had detected in their
various meetings. We all agreed that this Senior
Officials Week had been both a timely and useful
exercise with the Ministerial Conference just around
the corner.
Let me briefly provide you with my assessment of the
activities in each of those areas that held
consultations
over the past five days.
In Agriculture, the Chair continued his consultations
including e-meeting with Senior Officials. The
outcome of these consultations is that on templates,
Step 1 is moving towards initial outcomes with some
outstanding issues to be taken up in the week of 7
December; at that time, Step 2 (drawing up the draft
templates) will also be engaged.
Separately, there
will be a start to the verification process of some base
data. On modalities, the Chair expects to consult on
technical work in various issues, including the SSM
[Special Safeguard Mechanism] and tariff simplification and expects to receive a report on
ongoing work between delegations on tropical
products and preference erosion. He will also look to
engage with members on the work plan for the new
year.
On NAMA [non-agricultural market access], there is a feeling that progress is being made on NTBs [non
tariff barriers], but that more technical work is
required. The NTB proposals appear to be at different
levels of maturity, with one or even a few almost ripe
for a text-based discussion. On preference erosion, as
in the past, there is a shared sense that this subject
has to be handled with care. The sectoral negotiation
remains a proponent-led process, with the
proponents pursuing their number-based outreach
activities. On the case-specific flexibilities, namely
Argentina, South Africa and Venezuela, members
appear open to further discussion. A NAMA week has
been scheduled for the week of 7 December. NTBs
will again be the main focus of attention. The Chair
has called for updated texts as well as for submissions
of any outstanding proposals by that date.
On Services, the discussions this time round focused
on the rule-making negotiations in services and the
implementation of LDC [least-developed countries]
modalities. On rule-making, namely, Domestic
Regulation, Emergency Safeguard Measures,
Subsidies and Government Procurement, there was a
sense of good engagement among Senior Officials
and Heads of Delegations. There was recognition
that, as expected, Domestic Regulation is at a much
more advanced stage than the other three subjects.
In the Working Party, negotiations have been taking
place on the basis of a revised draft text presented by
the Chairperson. Of course, the text will be subject to
subsequent revisions in the light of future progress.
There are still, however, divergences that need to be
resolved. On the other three areas, more intensive
work is needed to clarify the way forward.
On the implementation of LDC modalities, the
discussions focused on a proposed text for a waiver
allowing members, notwithstanding the MFN [most-
favoured nation] obligation, to extend preferential
treatment to services and service suppliers of LDCs.
Fernando will be convening another Enchilada
meeting in the week of 14 December when senior
officials return to Geneva.
On Rules, the Negotiating Group met in an open-
ended informal format with the participation of
senior officials and heads of delegation. The Chair
provided an overview of the evolution of the
negotiations, the state of play, and the process he
envisioned going forward. On AD [anti-dumping] and CVD [countervailing duties] he observed that there
had been no further convergence on the big political
issues over the past year, and that participants would
not negotiate compromises until the overall direction
of the Round became clearer. On fisheries subsidies,
the Chair envisioned completing the roadmap
di scus s ions in December , beginning the
consideration of alternative proposals by
participants, and considering various issues such as
specificity. On RTAs [Regional Trade Agreements],
the Chair proposed to consult the Chair of the CRTA
[Committee on Regional Trade Agreements] to see
the extent to which the work of the CRTA, specifically
a work programme on topics suggested by members,
could feed further discussions in the Negotiating
Group.
The Chair plans to advance the Group's work by
holding a series of technical meetings in December.
On TRIPS [Trade-Related Intellectual Property
Rights] Special Session, the Chair held a formal
meeting this morning where he presented his report
in document TN/IP/19 containing an assessment of
the status of the issues. The report identifies areas of
emerging convergence and potential compromise in
the key areas of the negotiation, namely legal effects
and participation. To guide future work, the report
sets out five Guiding Principles that are intended to
focus the future negotiations on the gateway issues.
Members appreciated the Chair's balanced reflection
of members' positions and, although they did not see
all their concerns reflected in the report, they
accepted the Chair's constructive suggestions as a
basis for future work.
As you all know, Amb. Clarke is stepping down as chair
of the Special Session after the Ministerial
Conference to take up a senior appointment in WIPO.
We thank Trevor wholeheartedly for his patience and
his creative efforts in this difficult task and wish him
well with his new responsibilities.
On Environment, consultations by the CTESS
[Committee on Trade and Environment — Special
Session] Chair showed overall strong support for
moving forward on all parts of the mandate pursuant
to the Work Programme and the timeframes
contained therein. On the issue of the relationship
between the WTO and Multilateral Environmental
Agreements (MEAs), participants generally agreed
that the proposals on the table provided a good basis
to develop a text for negotiation.
As regards the work on Environmental Goods, the
Chair emphasized the need for broad-based
engagement and substantive inputs from members, both on environmental goods of interest and cross cutting issues, in the lead-up to the February meeting.
It was further noted that linkages with other areas of
the negotiations should not prevent the work from
moving ahead. Several senior officials observed that
the work in the environmental pillar should achieve a
level of clarity and predictability by the time that an
agreement is reached on Agriculture and NAMA
modalities.
The overall assessment of work undertaken since
September shows that progress has been made on a
range of technical issues across the board, even if for
the moment we have not seen closing gaps in so-
called “big ticket items”, which will need to be
accelerated. The sense that I got from my
consultations is that you very much want to keep the negotiating machine moving, including with the
regular involvement of Senior Officials.
With respect to the next steps, I also get the sense
that you are willing to build on progress made to date
and to build on the current level of ambition across
the board. The Delhi work programme will come to an
end with the Senior Officials Week beginning on 14
December and there is a general feeling that it would
be useful to also use that week to discuss the further
process, including collectively taking stock during the
first quarter of next year whether the 2010 deadline
remains achievable.
With respect to MC7, the general assessment was that
Ministers were coming to Geneva to review and
provide guidance on the WTO and the multilateral
trading system. I believe it would also be useful to get
their guidance as to how they see engagement in the
Doha negotiations post-December, so that this could
inform the December Senior Officials week.
I hope this relatively detailed overview of this week's
activities is helpful to delegations as they prepare to
receive their ministers over the weekend. As I said on
Monday, we all have an interest in approaching next
week's meeting in a constructive and positive manner
and I hope that by applying the General Council
Chairman's principle of Full Participation,
Inclusiveness and Transparency we have set the tone for the ministerial gathering.
"
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: CHILE Open trade policy has contributed to
growth and poverty reduction
Chile's trade and investment regime continues to be
characterized by openness, transparency, and
predictability, and together with sound
macroeconomic management, it has contributed to
growth and poverty reduction, according to the
WTO Secretariat review on the trade policies and
practices of Chile.
Chile's trade and investment regime continues to be
characterized by openness, transparency, and
predictability, and together with sound
macroeconomic management, it has contributed to
growth and poverty reduction, according to the
WTO Secretariat review on the trade policies and
practices of Chile.
The report notes that benefits could arise from re-
examining and eventually changing measures such
as the imposition of non-ad valorem tariffs on a few
agricultural products and the application of
reciprocity requirements in a handful of activities.
The report also notes that, one of the most
prominent features of Chile's trade policy regime is
the central role it gives to Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) of which it has 21 in force with 57
trading partners. At the same time, Chile remains
strongly committed to the multilateral trading system.
The report, along with a policy statement by the
Government of Chile, will be the basis for the fourth
Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Chile by the Trade Policy
Review Body of the WTO on 7 and 9 of October 2009.
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: MALDIVES Economic diversification is needed to
sustain growth
The Maldives is a physically and economically small,
vulnerable developing country, heavily dependant for
its prosperity on international trade. Real GDP growth
averaged 7,4% between 2003 and 2008, driven mainly
by the tourism sector. However growth is expected to
contract by 1,3% in 2009 due to a decline in tourism
activity, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the
trade policies and practices of the Maldives.
Given the concentration of the economic activity in few
areas, the report highlights that to be able to sustain
growth, the country needs to diversify the economy,
specially in light of its expected graduation from least
developed country (LDC) status in 2011, and to create a
viable tax structure. Diversifying the economy would
require significant private sector involvement, for
which a conducive business environment also needs to
be created, the report notes.
The Secretariat report also states that the Maldives'
tariff remains unduly complex and its level and
structure is a major potential distortion to the
allocation of resources and domestic efficiency, and
an impediment to the competitiveness of the
economy.
The report, along with a policy statement by the
Government of Maldives, will be the basis for the
second Trade Policy Review (TPR) of the Maldives
by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 26
and 28 of October 2009.
TRADE POLICY REVIEW:
BOTSWANA, LESOTHO, NAMIBIA,
SOUTH AFRICA AND SWAZILAND Deeper integration is necessary for
more balanced development
Since the previous review in 2003, SACU members
(Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and
Swaziland), have collectively expanded at an
average annual rate of about 4% in real terms,
although this GDP growth has been somewhat
erratic mainly reflecting infrastructure and other
constraints, according to a WTO Secretariat report
on the trade policies and practices of SACU.
The five member states of this Customs Union
continue to show substantial differences in levels of
economic development and, so far, the only trade
policy instruments harmonized are the applied
customs tariff, excise duties, duty rebates, refunds
and drawbacks, customs valuation, non-
preferential rules of origin, and contingency trade
remedies.
The report notes that the complete implementation
of the 2002 SACU Agreement, which entered into
force in July 2004, would result in further
harmonization of policies, deeper economic integration and more balanced development that now
seem elusive.
While noting that South African economy, the biggest
and most advanced of the Union, remains relatively
diversified, the report also says that the principal policy
imperative faced by the other SACU countries remains
diversification away from the current key export
products (diamonds and other minerals in Botswana
and Namibia, textiles in Lesotho and sugar in
Swaziland).
The report, along with policy statements by the
Governments of the Southern African Customs Union
(SACU), will be the basis for the third Trade Policy
Review (TPR) of SACU by the Trade Policy Review Body
of the WTO on 4 and 6 November 2009.
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: NIGER AND
SENEGAL
Further structural reforms would help to
improve economic performance
Since the previous joint review of their trade policies in
2003, the economic performance of Niger and Senegal
has been similar, with an annual average rate of growth
of 5,1% for Senegal and 5.0% for Niger over the period,
according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade
policies and practices of Niger and Senegal.
Senegal's economic growth has been mainly
attributable to the expansion in telecommunications
and transport services together with construction,
boosted by the relatively large flow of public and
private investment. Niger's economic performance is
still determined by the outcome of its harvests, much of
its economic activities being agricultural, including
livestock breeding.
The report notes the efforts undertaken by both
countries for economic integration in the frames of
WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary
Union) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West
African States). Nonetheless, considerable
structural problems, including supply-side
constraints and limited diversification, still impede
the economic development of Niger and Senegal.
The report also underlines the importance of
external aid and technical assistance to enable the
two countries to strengthen their WTO
commitments, take greater advantage of their
participation in the multilateral trading system and
support their strategy aimed at achieving the
Millennium Development Goals in particular the
reduction of poverty.
The report, along with policy statements by the
Governments of Niger and Senegal, will be the basis
for the second Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Niger
and the third of Senegal by the Trade Policy Review
Body of the WTO on 11 and 13 November 2009.
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: GEORGIA Further structural reforms, key to
sustained development
Georgia's recent economic policies have met with
considerable success guided by reliance on the
private sector for growth in a liberalized trade,
investment and business environment, in what has
been on of the world's fastest reforming
economies, according to a WTO Secretariat report
on the trade policies and practices of Georgia.
The WTO report, along with a policy statement by
the Government, will be the basis for the Trade
Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review
Body of the WTO. Prior to the armed conflict
with Russia in August 2008 and the world financial
crisis in September, per capita income rose three fold, GDP rose by nearly 10% per annum and Foreign
Direct Investment more than doubled to an estimated
17,2% in 2007. But those twin shocks hit many sectors
and dampened economic growth.
Although there has been some diversification,
Georgia's export structure remains quite concentrated
in traditional products. In agriculture, a sector critical
for the economy, labour productivity is one tenth of
that in the rest of the economy and the activity has
registered a decline due to shortage of credit and the
small size of land plots.
The report says that continuing structural reforms will
be key to strengthening Georgia's resilience to shocks,
sustaining growth, attracting investment into export
activities and improving productivity; in short, in
developing an enabling environment for export
diversification in terms of both product composition
and geographical direction.
The report, along with policy statement by the
Government of Georgia, will be the basis for the first
Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Georgia by the Trade
Policy Review Body of the WTO on 8 and 10 December
2009.
Doha success can yield double dividend of
global stimulus and structural reform -
Lamy
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the
German Engineering Federation Summit in Berlin on 13
October 2009, said that: "Germany and other countries
in the Euro Area are experiencing large deficits and an
increase in government debt ratios. Fiscal "exit
strategies" aimed at avoiding ballooning public debt
must rely on a combination of fiscal consolidation that
is, running a primary surplus, and sustained growth in
GDP. Achieving fiscal consolidation in times of
economic hardship is not easy given the presence of
automatic stabilizers such as unemployment
benefits and the reduced tax revenues. Achieving
sustained economic growth is no easier. Economic
growth can only be maintained by steady
productivity increases. A successful conclusion of
the Doha Round can yield a double dividend. On the
one hand, the Doha Round can play the role of a
global stimulus package. On the other hand, the
Doha Round can effectively act as a structural
reform package. It is the most effective way of
further constraining protectionist pressures and
fostering a political economy dynamics." This is
what he said:
World agricultural exports have nearly tripled in 20
years, and more recently Belarus, Chile, China, India,
Ukraine and the US have broken into the top
exporters' lists for some specific products, the
Agriculture Committee learnt on 19 November
2009.
But WTO members also heard warnings from
international organizations that despite some easing in international food prices, hunger remains a
problem for over a billion people in developing
countries - "people eat less and eat less well," as one put it.
The committee also continued to look at how to
improve sharing information under an evolving work
plan on improving notification and access to notified
information,
which developed from members' replies
to a questionnaire and began to take shape in the
committee's March meeting.
And as usual members asked each other questions
about the latest developments in their policies.
The "regular" Agriculture Committee meetings deal
with routine WTO work, and not the current
negotiations, which take place in separate "special
sessions".
Following the impasse at the July 2008 mini-
ministerial meeting, members including the
developing and the developed countries
endorsed the need for an early resumption of
talks. Based on subsequent discussions, the
Chairs of the Agriculture and Non-Agricultural
Market Access (NAMA) Negotiating Groups
brought out revised draft modalities in December
2008. To re-energize the on-going discussions,
India took the initiative by holding an informal
Ministerial Meeting during September 2009. The
meeting signalled considerable political
enthusiasm for an early conclusion of the Doha
Round.
Multilateral discussions have since begun in the
WTO on the basis of the draft modalities text
proposed by the Chair of the Negotiating Group
on Agriculture on December 6, 2008. As per the
draft modalities text brought out by the Chair of
the Negotiating Group on Agriculture on 6
December 2008, the US would take a 70% cut in
their Overall Trade-Distorting Domestic Support
(OTDS) which would reduce their ceiling level of
OTDS from the current US$ 48.2 billion to US$ 14.5
billion. The EC is to cut OTDS from €110.3 bn to
€22.6 bn. India as a member of the G-20 coalition is seeking reduction in subsidies in developed
countries. Multilateral discussions are underway.
Developed countries have been aiming for an
ambitious outcome for furthering their commercial
interests by demanding greater market access into
developing countries while safeguarding their
domestic support programmes. On the other hand,
the developing countries want an ambitious,
balanced and development-oriented outcome.
These include, adequate and appropriate Special and
Differential Treatment (S&DT) with a view to
safeguarding their food, livelihood security and rural
development needs and to protect their sensitive
industrial tariff lines. India and the other developing
countries have been holding intensive negotiations
to address the concerns of the poor countries
through mechanisms such as the S&DT.
According to the WTO Trade Statistics data base,
India's share in global merchandise trade rose from
0.53% in 1991 to 1.45% in 2008, while India's share in
global trade (goods & services) rose from 0.55% in
1991 to 1.65% in 2008.
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of
the WTO covers temporary movement of natural
persons. WTO agreement does not cover procedure
for grant of visas and member countries can have
their policies on grant of visas within overall
frame work of WTO. India has taken several
initiatives to address the barriers in the free
movement of natural persons by engaging in
negotiations at bilateral, plurilateral and
multilateral levels.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT
On 19th February 2004, the Government
cons t i t ut ed a Commi t t e e unde r the
Chairmanship of Secretary (Chemicals &
Petrochemicals) regarding the steps to be taken
by the Government in the context of data
protection under Article 39.3 of the WTO's TRIPS
Agreement. The Committee submitted its report
on 31st May 2007, wherein it recommended the
need to lay down explicit legal mechanism in the
Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, the Insecticides Act,
1968 and the Rules there under to ensure that
undisclosed data is not to put unfair commercial
use. The Committee recommended the following
period of data protection :
3 years in respect of agrochemicals.
5 years in respect of proprietary test data
for a new chemicals entity in pharma,
ceuticals after a transitional period.
5 years in respect of traditional medicines.
Regarding agrochemicals, the Pesticides
Management Bill, 2008 was introduced on
21.10.2008 in the 214th Session of Rajya Sabha to
replace the existing Insecticides Act, 1968. The
Bill has a provision for data protection for three
years for pesticides not previously registered. For patented pesticides the data protection is
proposed to be limited to the period of patent.
Regarding pharmaceuticals, the Government is
cur rent ly hold extens ive s takeholder
consultations to facilitate the adoption of a
coherent and consistent approach as the issue
has serious implications regarding access to life
saving drugs.
NO CONSENSUS IN MEETING OF WTO MEMBERS
The Doha Round of trade negotiations at the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), which began in
2001, is still underway.
In the WTO, decisions on any issue are taken on
the basis of consensus amongst all its Members,
which number 153 at present. The process of
negotiation amongst 153 members is often a
cumbersome one. While the years 2007 to 2009
have seen intensive discussions in the WTO and
progress achieved on several complex subjects,
differences still persist in many areas.
The negotiations cover several areas such as
agriculture, market access for non-agricultural products,
Trade-related intellectual property
rights, rules (covering anti dumping and
subsidies), trade facilitation etc. The conduct,
conclusion and entry into force of the outcome of
the negotiations are parts of a single
undertaking, i.e. "nothing is agreed until
everything is agreed".
In the negotiations, developing countries are
seek ing an ambi t ious , ba l anced and
development - oriented outcome that would
include adequate and appropriate Special and
Differential Treatment (S&DT) to, inter alia,
safeguard thier food, livelihood security and rural
development needs and to protect their sensitive
industrial tariff lines. Developed countries too
have both their defensive and offensive
concerns. They are seeking greater market
access into developing countries while
safeguarding thei r domes t i c suppor t
programmes and sensitive tariff lines. The
challenge in the negotiations is to balance
various interests in order to arrive at an outcome
that would be agreed to by all Members.
7th MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF WTO AT GENEVA
India participated in the Seventh Ministerial
Conference of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) held in Geneva from 30 November to 2
December 2009.
At the Ministerial conference, India expressed its
deep interest in the continued growth and
credibility of the WTO. To this end, India has
recently made a submission to the General
Council of the WTO containing, Inter alia,
proposals on systemic issues to improve the
functioning and efficiency of the WTO as a rules-
based system. These proposals are designed to
improve the capacity of WTO to provide better
services to its Members without in any way
diluting its fundamental deliberative structure
based on consensus. The proposal seeks to
enhance transparency. Inclusively and efficiency.
There has been widespread support for these
proposals in the WTO.
The importance of technical assistance and
capacity building for developing countries and
LDCs was stressed by Members. Participants also
underlined the value of the Dispute Settlement
System and the need for it to be made more
respective to the needs and circumstances of
poorer and smaller Members.
Council for Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights
4
Council for Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Special Session
8-12
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation
10
Committee on Agriculture
10
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology
15-16
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements
16
Council for Trade in Goods
17-19
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
19
Dispute Settlement Body
24-25
Committee on Technical Barries to Trade
24-26
Trade Policy Review Body - Croatia
25
Committee on Rules of Origin
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Government of India
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