Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 20 • 9th June 2004
GC Chair Outlines Structure Of July Outcome
On 8 June, the Chair of the WTO General Council (GC), Shotaro Oshima (Japan), convened a brief meeting of Heads of Delegations in order to outline the basic structure and elements of a package deal on a negotiating framework Members seek to finalise by the end of July (see BRIDGES Weekly, 19 May 2004). The one-page outline contained nine main points that the July outcome should include, leaving negotiators to fill in the substance, including annexes giving guidance to the negotiations in the period following August. The points included framework agreements for negotiations on agriculture, industrial market access, the trade aspects of cotton, and development issues. Also included were frameworks for issues flowing from the remaining negotiating bodies of the Doha Round, such as WTO rules, the so-called Singapore issues, and other remaining Doha elements. In addition, Chair Oshima proposed the July package include language reaffirming the Doha Declaration as an introduction, as well as a recommitment to the Doha Round.
Delegates, most of which already were familiar with the nine points, provided some input during the one-hour meeting. Most felt they could live with the outline. India, supported by the African Group, said services negotiations merited their own heading in the package. The least developed countries (LDCs) wanted to add a new category on the commodities issue. Members also made reference to recent political statements, such as the ‘Kigali Consensus,’ in which the African Union had outlined its position on the trade round and shown new flexibility (see BRIDGES Weekly, 2 June 2004).
On the controversial Singapore issues of investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation, both the African Group and the LDCs Group expressed their unease with the fact that trade facilitation seemed slated for negotiations in the post-July phase. The LDC Group noted that it preferred further work to clarify the issue before moving on to negotiations.
Chair Oshima indicated that he expected a full first draft of the July package to be completed in early July.
A meeting of the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee, which will allow Members to take stock of progress, is scheduled for 30 June. In the near future, key ministers will be meeting at the sidelines of UNCTAD XI in Sao Paolo, Brazil, from 13-18 June.
ICTSD reporting; "WTO Chair Outlines Nine Elements For Possible Framework Deal in July," WTO REPORTER, 9 June 2004.