Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 5 • Number 42 • 12th December 2001
WTO To Establish New Technical Assistance Trust Fund
At an 11 December meeting of the WTO’s Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration, Members reached near-agreement on the establishment of a Trust Fund of at least 15 million Swiss Francs (CHF) - approximately 9.1 million US dollars. This proposed amount would serve for the implementation of next year’s commitments on technical assistance as mandated by the Doha Ministerial Declaration agreed last month at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference. According to trade officials, the so- called ‘Doha Development Agenda Trust Fund’ has been set up to build in predictability in funding for technical assistance activities — such as training for less-advantaged Members — at the WTO.
While some Members have been pushing to have technical assistance funds allocated as part of the organisation’s regular budget, this has been difficult to achieve. Sources say one reason for this is the burden it may have on least-developed countries, which would thus paradoxically have to contribute more as part of their annual dues to the WTO. Also, certain developed countries, namely the US and Germany, have little room for manoeuvre with regards to committing more money in a formal manner. As such, contributions to the Trust Fund are expected to be kept voluntary. Funding has been forthcoming mostly from developed country Members, but these contributors are also "strongly encouraging wider participation from the larger developing countries," said one developed country source.
Some technical assistance initiatives, however, are accounted for in the regular budget, meaning they are not dependent on ad hoc voluntary contributions. These include support for a WTO Training Institute for developing country trade officials, an annual WTO-NGO symposium, and ‘Geneva Week’ sessions for Members without permanent representation to the WTO in Geneva. The latter two items have only CHF 276,000 allocated between them, however, prompting one WTO official to say that this sum is unlikely to be sufficient to run these programs. "Geneva Week on its own costs CHF 7- 800,000 to run, and the NGO Symposium costs from 4 to 500,000 francs," the source said. Extra funding will therefore be necessary to convene these events.
Questions remain over what form the technical assistance funded by the Trust Fund will take. The amount pledged is to be based on a plan put together by the WTO Secretariat and endorsed by the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD). However, due to the tight timeline imposed in Doha, Members have not agreed on what parts of a global technical assistance package the WTO can deliver on. Sources indicate that this will occur early in the new year at a meeting of the CTD.
The Doha Declaration contains a host of technical assistance provisions, and emphasises coordination with other agencies and donors. "What has been promised at Doha is infinitely larger than what the WTO alone can deliver," one country source said. A full program of technical assistance, particularly on capacity building and supply side issues, they said, must involve other agencies such as the World Bank and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The Trust Fund, along with the 2002 budget, must still be formally adopted at a General Council meeting scheduled for 19-20 December. Both Germany and Pakistan have yet to give a thumbs up on the budget; they are reportedly still seeking approval from their capitals.
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