Ag Agreement for Doha Round Unlikely...for Now
WTO director tells informal trade meeting that focus will be on the least developed countries.
Compiled by staff
Published: May 31, 2011
For now it appears that trade negotiators are throwing in the towel on getting any action on the Doha Round of trade negotiations that would have impact on ag and non-ag market access and a range of other services. For now, negotiators are focusing on the least developed countries which is now a fast-track priority in the Doha Round according to a release from the World Trade Organization.
In remarks made to an informal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee Monday, Pascal Lamy, director general, notes that through a wide number of meetings over the past few weeks he has come to some key conclusions.
"First, nobody wants to drop the Doha mandate," Lamy says. "Second, nobody wants to break the Single Undertaking and no Member is ready to see its specific issues of interest disappear from the mandate."
He further outlines that there is a unity of purpose among the negotiators to ensure that the WTO 8th Ministerial Conference taking place in Geneva in December "delivers results in the Doha Round." He adds that while the results won't be for the full round, they will be part of the original Doha Declaration.
Lamy has also learned that members are stressing the importance of having - by the December Ministerial - clarity about the road map for work on the Doha Development Agenda. "I know that a number of you see it as essential to build in a sense of the continuation of the Round to its full completion at a later date," he notes.
He also offered a suggestion for how to approach the work ahead. "Firstly, priority should be given to [lesser-developed country] issues such as Duty Free, Quota Free...the LDC Services Waiver and a step forward on Cotton. These LDC specific issues should be put on a fast track," he says.
He adds that it is important to have a significant development component ready by December and there are a number of candidates that could be added to the LDC-specific issue. He adds, however, that agriculture and services, trade remedies and other issues are not seen as "candidates for outcomes this year. If you will allow me to continue with the analogy, these issues will move into the slow lane, it being clear that for these areas we will need to look beyond [the ministerium] and plan accordingly."
Lamy stressed the importance to the TNC that they have plenty of work to accomplish and is already calling for another meeting June 9. For years, the WTO has labored to make something happen with the Doha Round, whether this latest action will get some portion of the agreement moving ahead remains to be seen.
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