Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 34 • 15th October 2003

Trade Talks: Chair Castillo Sets Out Process Forward

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WTO Members convened in a Heads of Delegation (HOD) meeting on Tuesday, 14 October, to consider the way forward after talks collapsed at the ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in September. Although the meeting was the first to be held at the level of heads of delegation, Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi and the Chair of the General Council, Carlos Perez del Castillo, had already been holding informal talks to sound out Members on a way forward. In a green room meeting the week before, chaired by Supachai, Members had discussed the status of various possible draft texts that negotiations might proceed on the basis of, as well as the status of the so called Singapore issues of investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation.Meanwhile, GC Chair del Castillo travelled to Washington, D.C, for several days last week to meet with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. He returned saying that he felt "relatively optimistic" about the prospects for restarting negotiations, but was aware of the fact that the US did not intend to function as a driving force behind them. The US has previously been explicit in explaining that it will move ahead with "will do" countries on a bilateral basis, leaving others behind. The EU has similarly indicated that it is in a listening mode, and will focus on examining its own trade policies rather than seek to generate more momentum into the Doha Round. While a group of 20 developing countries has stated its commitment to getting the talks back on track, the group has not come forth with any concrete proposals or positions (see related story, this issue).

Talks to focus on agriculture, NAMA, cotton and Singapore issues

At the HOD meeting, Supachai urged delegates to get the talks back on track, stressing that "time is not on our side. It will call for an effort from all sides and I appeal to everyone to contribute". All formal special negotiating sessions will continue to be suspended. Instead, Chair del Castillo will hold consultation on four key groups of issues — agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA), cotton and the Singapore issues. The first issue up for discussion will be agriculture, followed by similar discussions on the other three issues, with a second round of discussions aimed at "deepening the substantive negotiations". Thus, according to Chair del Castillo, the talks would be both "horizontal" and "integrated," with the four areas proceeding as a package. The consultations themselves will take a variety of forms, including both smaller and larger groups of countries. Chair del Castillo said he would ensure a transparent process.

At the HOD meeting, only a few Members took the floor. Mauritius, for the African Group, stressed the group’s commitment to the negotiations, and its hope for a speedy resumption of talks. His thoughts were echoed by Benin, Morocco and Botswana, speaking for the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as by Bolivia.

Delegates will have to find a way forward by a 15 December senior officials-level session of the General Council, which is to take "necessary action" for Members to be able to conclude the round. The first post-Cancun General Council session is scheduled to meet from 21-22 October.

ICTSD reporting; "Del Castillo ‘Optimistic’ After Meetings In U.S. That WTO Talks Can Be Relaunched," WTO REPORTER, 10 October 2003; "WTO chief says time running to revive trade talks," REUTERS, 14 October 2003; "WTO Negotiators Look For A Way Forward After Cancun Mtg," AP, 14 October 2003.