World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy is suggesting a stocktaking take place at the end of March concerning WTO trade talks. Lamy, who also serves as Chair of the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee, says some progress is taking place, but gaps remain. Still, Lamy says that capitals remain engaged and committed to injecting momentum from the political level into the Geneva process.
In Agriculture, Lamy says that work continues on two tracks: templates and on the bracketed or otherwise annotated issues in the draft modalities. In particular, there is an agreed definition of the Value of Production, which is fundamental to commitments on Overall Trade-Distorting Domestic Support. On the modalities, some technical issues are under discussion. Consultations are also continuing on tariff simplification, Tariff Rate Quota creation, tropical products and preference erosion.
The Swiss Confederation hosted an informal ministerial meeting at the end of January. During that meeting Lamy says he detected an unwavering commitment to the progress achieved to date as the basis for entering into the last stage of the negotiations. Ministers have pledged to continue to resist protectionist pressures.
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