Brussels, 05/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - In Paris on Thursday 4 June, the Director General of the WTO, Roberto Azevedo, told the trade ministers of the OECD countries and the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, of his concern at the slow progress in the key fields of the negotiations of the Doha round. At the WTO headquarters in Geneva, blockages over the agricultural issues are still holding up the discussions on industrial products.
At Thursday's OECD ministerial, Azevedo repeated the concerns he expressed to the heads of delegation of the WTO on 1 June. “While I am encouraged by the good engagement that we have seen in recent months, I am becoming increasingly concerned that we are not making the progress we need to deliver a substantive work programme in July. This is particularly the case in the key areas of agriculture, industrial products and services. I heard views today that are clearly divergent on some of these issues. It is vital that we move quickly to find convergence if we are to deliver results that are both meaningful and achievable. I will do everything I can to support members to find a way forward”, Azevedo explained after the meeting. “I told ministers that we were rapidly approaching the point where political calls will be required. It was encouraging in this regard to hear strong support from ministers for the WTO and a recognition of the importance that they attach to a successful Nairobi meeting”, he added.
The Kenyan Foreign Minister, Amina Mohamed, who will chair the Nairobi conference, sent out a “clear message” on the need to deliver outcomes. “There was a strong focus throughout the discussion on the importance of development and LDC issues”, Azevedo added.
Following the Bali mini-agreement concluded in December 2013 and the agreement on implementing the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) reached at the end of 2014, the WTO member countries are due to set out their work programme by 31 July on the main sections of the Doha round - agriculture, industrial products, services and rules - in order to make a comprehensive political agreement possible in Nairobi.
The president of the WTO negotiation committee on industrial products (market access for non-agricultural products), the Swiss ambassador Remigi Winzap, warned on 1 June that ultimately, it will be difficult to get formal proposals to move the talks forward if no progress is made in agriculture. During the meeting, many developing members confirmed their reluctance to fully commit to the talks on industrial goods until the level of ambition on agriculture is clarified. Some of them stressed their concerns at the lack of progress on special and differentiated treatment and other flexibilities for this category of countries.
The Doha agenda will be discussed by the G7 leaders at their summit at Schloss Elmau on 7 and 8 June, where they will be joined on Monday by Azevedo.
Spectacular drop in cost of trade under TFA, OECD forecasts. The implementation of the WTO's trade facilitation agreement (TFA) could bring the cost of global trade down by between 12.5% and 17.5%, and the developing countries would be the principal beneficiaries of this, according to the 2015 edition of the trade facilitation indicators drawn up by the OECD, and presented in Paris on Thursday.
Trade costs comprise all tariff and non-tariff costs including transport, border -related and local distribution costs from foreign producer to final user in another country.
Countries which implement the TFA in full will reduce their trade costs by anywhere from 1.4 to 3.9 percentage points more than those which only implement the minimum requirements of the agreement. The greatest opportunities for reductions in the costs of trade are in the low and lower middle-income countries, according to the OECD.
The TFA comprises a raft of binding rules to simplify and streamline customs procedures, thereby facilitating trade flows. It will enter into force once two thirds of the member countries of the WTO have completed their internal ratification processes. (Emmanuel Hagry)