Brussels, 29/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - At the time of EUROPE going to press on Tuesday 29 July, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo was still consulting all the coordinators of the regional groups (African group, G20, G33, and less developed countries) and the key players (including the EU, USA and India) in order to find a way out of the stalemate at the WTO General Council, before adopting the protocol on implementing the trade facilitation agreement reached at the ministerial conference in Bali at the end of 2013.
On 25 July, India blocked the adoption of this protocol - for which the deadline of 31 July was set under the terms of the Bali mini-agreement - and it asked for the protocol to be postponed due to a lack of progress in the discussions on a permanent solution to agricultural subsidies and food stocks. New Delhi has linked the trade facilitation agreement and the guarantees India seeks on another hard-fought compromise at Bali - the “peace clause” (which is valid for four years and enables developing countries, first and foremost India, to take measures on public stockholdings for food security purposes beyond the limits set by the WTO for domestic support, without these measures being contested at the WTO). India wants the deadline to be postponed until the end of 2014 in order to negotiate a permanent solution for the peace clause. In Bali, the previous Indian government had only obtained a moratorium until 2017.
On Friday, after India's blockage, Azevedo suspended the WTO General Council meeting. If positions evolve in the next 48 hours, the General Council will meet again on Thursday 31 July - the deadline for adopting the protocol on trade facilitation.
Very good level of engagement on post-Bali agenda. While they are having difficulty in adopting the protocol agreement on trade facilitation - a key element of the Bali package - the 160 WTO member countries have been constructive in preparing the post-Bali agenda for the continuation of the Doha round negotiations. The member countries have shown “a very good level of engagement” in the consultations recently conducted by Azevedo and the chairs of the negotiating groups on the key areas of agriculture, industrial goods and service, Azevedo told the General Council on 25 July. “How we move forward now is in your hands”, he said. (EH)