WTO Ministerial Section • Volume 7 • Number 6 • 19th February 2003
Tokyo Mini-Ministerial Fails to Deliver Results
Trade ministers from 22 countries, meeting in Tokyo from 14-16 February for a second ‘mini-Ministerial’ since the launch of the Doha round of trade negotiations in November 2001, made little progress in resolving a number of ongoing deadlocks at the WTO. The threat of war in Iraq loomed over the meeting, and the rifts between the US and the EU over the war also complicated the trade talks. Ahead of the meeting, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned that "we are facing imminent gridlock. Only tightly focused political energy can avoid it." Highlighting negotiations on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and access to essential medicines for poor countries, and special and differential treatment (S&D) for developing counties, he said "failure to make real progress on [these issues] has deepened suspicions among developing countries that the ‘Development’ part of the Doha Development Agenda may be little more than a slogan".
Disagreement prevails over agriculture, TRIPs and health
A new draft document outlining the negotiating modalities in the area of agriculture, circulated during the week of the meeting, topped the Tokyo meeting agenda. Ministers aired their divergent views, but made no progress in bridging gaps (see related story in this issue). By the end of the meeting, the participants — comprising both trade and agriculture ministers — could not agree on referring to the new draft as a "reference point" for future discussions, but preferred to refer to is as a "catalyst". According to the work programme agreed at Doha, WTO Members are to finalise the agriculture negotiating modalities by the end of March, only six weeks after the Tokyo meeting.
On TRIPs and health, Brazil reportedly put forward a compromise proposal during the meeting. However, the initiative did not break this WTO deadlock (see related story, this issue).
Wrapping up after the talks, Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said ministers had reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the Doha round of trade talks, and that discussions had been "active and constructive". A WTO spokesperson said, however, that the talks had underscored the gaps between WTO Members, and pointed to agriculture as an area of particular concern, noting that failure to reach agreement on modalities by the end of March as scheduled could jeopardise the whole trade round. The following countries were in attendance at the Tokyo mini-Ministerial: the US, the EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland.
European NGO letter rejects expansion of negotiations
Timed to coincide with the Tokyo mini-Ministerial, European NGOs sent a letter to EC Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy rejecting the expansion of WTO negotiations. The 16 NGOs were protesting against attempts by the EC to suggest that a mandate already exists to begin WTO negotiations on the ‘Singapore issues’ — investment, competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation — after the Cancun Ministerial. Pascal Lamy had reportedly used this argument at the previous mini-Ministerial in Sydney in November 2002. The NGOs stressed that the interpretation was incorrect and using it "would constitute an attempt to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations leading to a decision on modalities". The NGO statement further called on the EC to "drop its insistence that there must be negotiations on the new issues at the WTO," noting that the initiation of new and complex negotiations would be inappropriate considering the already existing workload.
"European civil society open letter against expansion of the WTO agenda, on the occasion of the WTO mini-Ministerial in Tokyo, Japan, 15- 16 February 2003," 14 February 2003; "WTO talks in Doha risk getting jammed," AFP, 15 February 2003; "Brazil Offers Compromise to Break Deadlock Over TRIPs Flexibility on Medicines," WTO REPORTER, 19 February 2003; "WTO Members Blast Harbinson Ag Text - Draft to Serve as ‘Catalyst’ for Future Talks," WTO REPORTER, 19 February 2003; "WTO Meet ‘Constructive, Active:’ Japan Foreign Min -Kyodo," DOW JONES, 17 February 2003; "Serious Gaps In WTO On Issues, Says Spokesman - Kyodo," DOW JONES, 16 February 2003.