Strasbourg, 14/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - Due to persistent differences over the chapter of the Doha round on tariffs on industrial products, the eighth ministerial conference of the WTO to be held in Geneva in mid-December will not be able to conclude a definitive agreement by the end of 2011, after 10 years of laborious multilateral negotiations, or arrive at an interim agreement on a package of measures in favour of the poorest countries. The Commission and the European Parliament remain nonetheless steadfastly committed to achieving an ambitious and well-balanced agreement, based on the needs of the developing countries.
In a resolution adopted at the plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 14 September, the Parliament reaffirms its “total commitment” to a multilateral trade system, with the WTO as guarantor. The organisation which governs world trade also has, it argues, “a vital role to play in ensuring better management of globalisation, a fairer share-out of its advantages and more balanced economic growth”. The MEPs have therefore reaffirmed their commitment to the “fair and balanced” conclusion of the Doha Development Round. Expressing regrets that it will be impossible to reach an agreement on the outstanding issues at the eighth ministerial conference in Geneva on 15-17 December, the MEPs reaffirmed their “full commitment” to the idea of putting development at the heart of the round and called on the member countries of the WTO to reach the targets laid down when the Doha round was launched in 2001 and the commitments made in Hong Kong in 2005 in favour of the developing countries. These include the fastest possible implementation of a full raft of measures for development, including duty-free and quota-free access to the markets for products from the least-developed countries (LDC) for at least 97% of all tariff lines, and the developed countries removing export subsidies for cotton, special and differentiated treatment (particularly a derogation in the field of services), and greater transparency and increased simplicity of the preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from the LDCs, in order to make market access easier for them. The Parliament therefore calls on all developed and emerging countries to follow the European model of the “Everything but Arms” initiative, which guarantees 100% duty-free and quota-free market access for products from the LDCs. Stressing major differences in levels of economic growth throughout the world and constant fluctuations in international trade flows, the MEPs call on the emerging countries in particular to take on their responsibilities as global economic operators and to make concessions in proportion to their level of development and competitiveness. With regard to this, the Parliament states that it will be necessary to decide whether evolutions in conditions since the Doha round was launched in 2001, taking particular account of the role of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in the global economy, make the objectives impossible to achieve. It is worth noting that the MEPs are stressing the need, within the framework of the Doha round, to improve access to environmental technologies and goods, and to lay down rules to help towards greater food security. Lastly, due to the persistent deadlock caused by the architecture and original objectives of the Doha round, the Parliament takes the view that it is “more than ever necessary” to revisit discussions on the future functioning and reform of the WTO.
In a press release published on Monday 12 September preceding the vote on the resolution, Karel De Gucht pointed out that despite their relaunch in early 2011, which was made possible by a prior political commitment of the G20 leaders to conclude the round by the end of the year, the Doha negotiations remain at deadlock due to differences between the developed and emerging countries, particularly on the industrial tariffs chapter, which caused the members to revise their ambitions and define the outline of an overall agreement before the summer. “The cause for this political impasse on industrial tariffs is fundamentally divergent expectations regarding the reciprocity of commitments that developed and emerging countries should take in opening their markets: one side asked for almost full harmonisation of commitments, while others insisted on far-reaching special and differential treatment”, the trade commissioner explained. “The EU's position has been somewhere between the two extremes, asking the emerging countries to take ambitious commitments, while recognising that a certain degree of flexibility is still justified. Although the EU compromise proposal got large support from the concerned industries, there was unfortunately not enough traction around the negotiating table to negotiate further on the basis of this - I believe - good proposal”, he continued. And even though their ambitions have been revised downwards, the member states were not able to sketch out a minimal agreement before the summer, to be validated at the December ministerial meeting, on the basis of measures for the LDCs, together with a trade facilitation agreement. This is a “deeply disappointing” situation in the view of De Gucht, who pledged that the Commission would “participate in a proactive manner” in the consultation process that the WTO director-general, Pascal Lamy, is leading. With regard to this, the European executive will be guided by three principles: an agenda for the WTO which will contribute to the recovery and rebalancing of the global economy, holding on to progress made since 2001, and a particular focus on the LDCs. (E.H./transl.fl)