Brussels, 21/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht argued in Washington on Tuesday that a basic compromise package must be agreed at the WTO ministerial conference in December, delivering measures for the least developed countries and ensuring “an appropriate balance of concessions” among the other countries, in particular the United States, the EU, Brazil, China and India.
“Pulling the plug on Doha is not an option. What we would probably see is years of drift at the WTO and serious erosion of the legitimacy of the whole rules-based system underpinning open markets, which the US and Europe have constructed over the past 60 years. The WTO is by far the most effective part of global governance so it deserves great care”, De Gucht said, addressing the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Tuesday 21 June. “I am not arguing for business as usual, especially after yet another breakdown two months ago, despite a European compromise proposal on NAMA sectorals. A new approach in the negotiations is clearly needed to deliver results. I think that the notion of putting together an interim package of deliverables - a down payment, if you will - by the end of this year is the best way to show that results can after all be achieved. This could then pave the way towards concluding the rest of the Round as soon as political conditions will allow for this, and that won't happen this side of the US presidential elections”, he told the representatives of the American business community. “Without getting into the details about the contents of a possible December package, let me just say that the WTO needs to deliver on 'development' for its poorest members [the Least Developed Countries], while ensuring an appropriate balance of concessions among the rest of the membership, notably between the US, EU, China, India and Brazil. The focus must be on what can realistically be achieved in the short timeframe till the end of the year. The last thing the WTO needs is another breakdown”, he said calling on the US and the EU to “take the lead and pull off that mini-package for December”. (E.H./transl.rt)