WTO Director General Says WTO Negotiations in Serious Trouble

WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi called on ambassadors in an informal meeting on Friday to immediately change gear in the trade negotiations, stressing that "progress is nowhere near sufficient in terms of our critical path to Hong Kong." He said that there is still a "slender chance" of averting a crisis, "but every hour must be made to count."

Panitchpakdi says the evident challenge is that it is unlikely to have agreed elements of text by the end of July in any of the main areas of the negotiations. "I am afraid we have to face the facts. These negotiations are in trouble," he says. "Very little of the political support which has been shown at successive Ministerial meetings has been turned into concrete progress in the negotiating groups. Everyone has a generalized commitment to progress, but when it comes to the specifics, the familiar defensive positions take over."

The Director-General explains that it is important to distinguish between the goals for Hong Kong and what needs to be achieved by the end of July. "Although July has understandably been seen as an important marker in our process leading up to Hong Kong, our main focus must remain on the Ministerial Conference itself," he says.

To complete this round of negotiating by 2006, ministers need to agree upon modalities in the key areas of the negotiations. The process this month will culminate with a meeting of the General Council scheduled for 27 July, which will be the opportunity to take stock and register progress on the basis of all work done since July 2004 and of the reports from various bodies — including from the chairs of negotiating groups.

Panitchpakdi says it is essential to work towards an ambitious and balanced outcome at Hong Kong. This must include not only negotiating modalities for agriculture and non-agriculture market access, but also real progress on substance and process for market access and rule making in services and significant and substantial progress in rules and trade facilitation.

"Let me emphasize that we are all now looking to conclude the negotiations in 2006, using the Hong Kong Ministerial as a platform to take us into the endgame," he told the ambassadors. "Failure to get there will be a major setback for growth, development and the multilateral system. You, the Members, will have to decide whether that is an option."

A number of ministers will be meeting informally in China next week, including U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. Panitchpakdi says the WTO will be looking to them for clear guidance on crucial political issues, although he says it is only in Geneva, in a fully inclusive forum, that real convergence can be reached.