Brussels, 21/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The differences which persist between the 153 member countries of the WTO not only considerably reduce hopes of an agreement to conclude the Doha Round in 2011, but also jeopardise the whole of the multilateral trade system, Pascal Lamy warned on Thursday 21 April.
The differences of opinion in the chapter of industrial products, particularly that of the sectorial agreements, which provide for tariffs to be phased out in 14 key industrial sectors (including automotive, electronics, machines, toys, chemicals, textiles), and which would involve the commitment of the large emerging countries “are blocking progress and cast serious doubt on the conclusion of the round this year”, explained the director general of the WTO, in a note accompanying the documents submitted on Thursday by the presidents of the various negotiating groups - agriculture, NAMA, services.
In the absence of the revised compromise texts on the terms and conditions for the liberalisation of trade in each of these three key sectors, which the mediators have been unable to draw up due to the lack of progress, these documents show an overall picture which is both “impressive” in view of the progress made since the start of the round, and “realistic” in that it does not shy away from the remaining differences.
In addition to the progress made since 2001, Lamy laid emphasis on the persistent disagreements, which jeopardise a trade liberalisation round which is dedicated to development. “I believe that we are faced with a divide of manifest political order which, as it stands today (…) and according to what I have heard of my consultations, cannot currently be bridged”, he stated, admitting that “the situation is serious for the round” - quite out of character for a usually optimistic WTO boss. Lamy is therefore calling on the 153 members to “think long and hard about what it would mean to abandon 10 years of continuous multilateral work” and to enter into dialogue over the next weeks to seek to align their positions. The delegations are called upon to discuss the issues first of all at ambassador level, at a meeting of the trade negotiation committee on 29 April, then at ministerial level in Paris at the end of May. (E.H./transl.fl)