Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 38 • 13th November 2003
WTO: Informal Consultations On Singapore Issues Ongoing
Informal consultations on the Singapore issues — investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation — continue to play out at the Heads of Delegation (HOD) level at the WTO. According to delegates, General Council (GC) Chair Carlos Perez del Castillo has been meeting with delegations in smaller groups, holding a ‘Green Room’-style meeting on 12 November with 36 delegations. Little substance has yet emerged from these consultations, though Chair Perez del Castillo has proposed new formulas for progressing the talks. Sources indicate that Members are waiting for the EC to spell out its position on the Singapore issues, and that in the end, the fate of these issues will correlate with what can be achieved on agriculture, the real sticking point of the negotiations.
GC Chair proposes formula for talks on Singapore issues
During recent informal small-group meetings, GC Chair Perez del Castillo proposed formulas for talks on the Singapore issues. One way forward would be to base talks on a so-called "2 plus 2" formula, where two Singapore issues — trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement — would be negotiated, and the other two, investment and competition policy, would be sent to working groups for further clarification. Another proposed formula was the "2 plus 1 plus 1" formula, under which two issues would be negotiated multilaterally, one plurilaterally, and the remaining issue sent for clarification to a working group.
Speaking on these proposed formulas, one African trade delegate strongly opposed the idea of plurilateral agreements. He said he was willing to contemplate multilateral talks on trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement, as long as the issue of modalities, or the framework for negotiations, was dealt with and clarified in the negotiations. He felt that the so called "Derbez text" (the second revision of the Draft Cancun Ministerial text produced by Ministerial Chair Luis Ernesto Derbez on 13 September in Cancun) had failed to include developing country concerns related to the Singapore issues in its annexes. The delegate added that in a final analysis, progress in agriculture would be key to any possible agreement on the Singapore issues post-Cancun.
Many Caribbean countries, together with Malaysia and the Philippines, continue to resist moving ahead in any way with any of the four Singapore Issues. While India is still mostly in this camp, it has indicated it could show some flexibility.
Members waiting for signals from the EC
At the 12 November session, EC delegate Carlo Trojan reportedly did not reveal the EC’s position on the Singapore Issues. Trade officials say the EC continues to push the options of plurilateral or ‘opt-in opt- out’ arrangements, which are strongly resisted by most other Members. According to sources, Members are waiting for a fresh EC negotiating mandate, expected to emerge at an informal EU Trade Ministers’ meeting in Brussels on 2 December (see related story, this issue). Other key decisions are also expected at the meeting, such as the endorsement or rejection of the "Derbez text" as the basis for further work (JOB (03)/150/Rev.2, available at http://www.ictsd.org/ministerial/cancun/docs/draft_cancun_minist_text_re v2.pdf). The EC, along with Japan and Korea, has been the key demandeur for the Singapore issues, although it agreed to drop investment and competition off the agenda in a last-minute move in Cancun. Following Cancun, the EC has sent mixed signals regarding its stance on the Singapore issues.
Cotton falling off the agenda?
The talks on the Singapore issues form part of a process set out by Chair Perez del Castillo on 14 October and endorsed by the GC on 21 October, where Members indicated some willingness to engage on the Doha round in Geneva. The process involves a focus on four key areas: agriculture, industrial market access, cotton and the Singapore issues (see BRIDGES Weekly, 15 October 2003). While Members have met informally and in green rooms to discuss agriculture and industrial market access, the initiative to end cotton subsidies — which was put forth by four West African countries and attracted significant attention in Cancun — is getting less consideration. According to the sponsors of the initiative, cotton subsidies in rich countries have led to the halving of cotton prices since the mid-1990s, with devastating effects on African countries and their poverty alleviation efforts (see BRIDGES Weekly, 7 May 2003).
According to an African trade source, delegates with an interest in the issue fear it is losing momentum. Reportedly, the Chair of the talks has suggested that the cotton issue be split into two: trade aspects of the problem would be dealt with in the WTO, most likely in the Committee on Agriculture, while development aspects would be dealt with by international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. Informal talks in Geneva have not led to much progress so far, with the US sticking to its initial position, which included efforts to help African cotton producers diversify their economies. African countries have reportedly given up the idea of obtaining compensation for the losses they have incurred due to cotton subsidies in rich countries, while still standing firm in their demand for the phase-out of cotton subsidies.
On the way forward, GC Chair Perez del Castillo is expected to call an informal Heads of Delegation meeting on 18 November to brief Members on the current status of talks and to initiate a second round of more intensive talks on the four topics of focus. 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.
ICTSD reporting.
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