Brussels, 19/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - As well as the major chapters of negotiations on the terms for the liberalisation of trade which have not yet been closed (special safeguard mechanism in agriculture, cotton, limiting import duties, etc), the work begun in July 2009 on the data and “templates”, the blank forms or tables which will provide a detailed identification of the commitments taken further to the Doha Round, are dividing the developed and emerging countries of the G-20 (Brazil, China, India, etc). Describing this work as excessively administrative, the emerging countries would prefer agricultural negotiations to focus on the substance and would rather tackle the dossiers which remain outstanding.
In early July, Brazil submitted an unofficial G-20 document proposing a distinction between two types of subjects in the work on the “templates”, which are based on the draft compromise on the details dating from December 2008: on the one hand, areas in which creating templates for commitments is easy to do, without links to the substance, such as reduction templates for internal support which distorts competition, or reduction formulae for customs duty; on the other, areas in which it is difficult to separate the “templates” from the substance, particularly the elements of flexibility for the internal support which are specific to certain countries, placing an upper limit on customs duty, the special safeguard mechanism, the creation of new tariff import quotas and, lastly, export subsidies. The G-20 considers that the “templates” for the second category cannot be established until the subjects in question have been the subject of a compromise on the substance.
At the meeting of the committee on agricultural negotiations of the WTO of 6 July, the proposal of the G-20 nonetheless came up against the objections of the developed countries, from the agricultural importer countries of the G-10, led by Switzerland and Japan, from Australia, which is the chef de file of the Cairns group (exporter countries), and from Member States of the EU, which believe that the creation of the templates should move forward as quickly as possible, even though it is conditional upon a full agreement on the details. The EU and the G-10, which also take the view that the distinction drawn by the G-20 between two categories of subjects is arbitrary and depends on the specific interests of each, have also warned of the risks of creating a precedent, which could encourage other countries to place their own subjects into the second category, which would further limit the work which could be completed at this stage.
On 9 July, the mediator on agricultural issues at the WTO, the New Zealander David Walker, nonetheless called on the member countries to make the most of the summer break to provide information to allow the WTO secretariat to put together the data which will make a concrete agreement possible at the end of the round. Mr Walker also provided information on his most recent consultations with certain members on two outstanding dossiers, the special safeguard mechanism and tariff simplification. On this occasion, the countries of the G-20 reiterated their preference for the work on the “templates” not to delay substantial discussions on the detailed chapters which have not yet been closed. (E.H./trans.fl)