Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 18 • 21st May 2003
WTO General Council Tackles Implementation And Development
The WTO General Council (GC) met from 15-16 May, where Members used the opportunity to address implementation concerns and development-related issues of the Doha Work Programme. The meeting followed a gathering of heads-of-delegation with WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi on 14 May to focus and inject momentum into negotiations.
Implementation-related issues and concerns
India submitted a paper (WT/GC/W/494, available at http://docsonline.wto.org) on outstanding implementation issues under Article 12(b) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, calling for their review. These are issues related to previous WTO commitments highlighted by developing countries at Doha because they were experiencing difficulties in implementing them, or because they felt developed countries had failed in implementing them. Progress on the implementation issues has been stalling, with Members disagreeing on the exact negotiating mandate for a start (for further information see the IISD/ICTSD Doha Round Briefing Series on implementation).
The GC agreed to request the Secretariat to prepare an informational document outlining the status of the issues. Tanzania submitted a paper (WT/GC/W/495) on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing countries calling for the review of development-related issues of the Doha Work Programme. Members provided their perspectives on the lack of progress, but no specific action was taken.
Members far from agreement on S&D
On special and differential (S&D) treatment for developing countries, delegates reacted to a paper circulated by GC Chair Perez del Castillo (Uruguay) in early May (see BRIDGES Weekly, 14 May 2003). The paper consisted of a list of agreement-specific proposals divided into three categories: category one for agreement at/before the Cancun Ministerial Conference (10-14 September 2003); category two for those to be "addressed" in relevant WTO bodies; and category three for which "wide divergences of views" existed among Members. Delegates from both developing and developed countries gave cautious responses, with the Quad — the US, EU, Canada and Japan — indicating that some proposals in category one were likely too far-reaching for them to support. The African group has objected to the categorisation of the proposals, as well as to the idea that some proposals would be dealt with in negotiating groups established under the current round of negotiations. The African group has argued that S&D should be dealt with by the Committee on Trade and Development, not by other groups or the GC, and that the GC should only clarify the mandate on S&D. However, the issue will remain with the GC and Chair Perez del Castillo will reportedly be conducting informal consultations at the heads-of- delegation level on the paper on agreement-specific proposals.
Kimberly Process waiver adopted
The GC also formally approved a request of eleven Members — Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Thailand, the UAE and US — for a waiver from WTO rules, and dispute settlement proceedings alleging violations of those rules, for the Kimberley Process rough diamonds certification scheme. This waiver had already been approved on 26 February by the Council for Trade in Goods (see BRIDGES Weekly, 27 February 2003). The Kimberley Process is an international initiative established to sever the link between illicit international trade in rough diamonds and armed conflict.
The next General Council meeting will be held from 24-25 July.
ICTSD reporting.
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