Brussels, 23/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Concerned and disappointed by the obstacles to concluding the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) at the WTO, the trade minsters from the developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) are determined to contribute to the success of the 10th WTO ministerial conference - which will for the first time be hosted in Africa and in an ACP country (Kenya, 15-18 December).
The ACP trade ministers are also determined to defend their countries' development interests and to obtain tangible results in Nairobi and beyond, through the continuation of the DDA negotiations that they request. The strategy and official declaration they adopted on Wednesday 21 October at the end of their extraordinary meeting in Brussels (see EUROPE 11413) bear witness to this.
“One of the strategic objectives of the ACP Group is to ensure the DDA is maintained for the period after the conference. We are also in favour of adopting a ministerial statement in Nairobi, which will serve as a guide for future work”, said Secretary General of the ACP Group Patrick Gomes.
Very heterogeneous, the ACP Group - which brings together 79 developing countries as varied as small island states, least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked countries, and medium-income countries - represents a third of WTO members (61 ACP countries are WTO members and seven are on the path to accession).
In their declaration, the ACP trade ministers underline the need to ensure that decisions are taken through a transparent process, based on consensus, which is open to an agreement on all the measures for development and takes account of the concerns and interests of all the ACP states.
They call on the WTO to adopt the 15 decisions that the ACP countries proposed - concerning, in particular, flexibility for LDCs and small vulnerable economies (SVEs) on market access for agricultural and non-agricultural goods; and agreed flexibility for developing countries in their negotiations on services; different tariff-reduction objectives to be defined for developed countries, developing countries and SVEs according to the principles of special and differentiated treatment and of less than full reciprocity - with LDCs being exempt from tariff reductions. The ACP countries call for concrete binding decisions to be taken also on cotton, as well as in domains highlighted by the LDCs, and they call for specific proposals to be put forward on this by the G90 countries. They ask for affirmation of the DDA development objectives in all aspects of the results of the negotiations, including the special and differentiated treatment and less than full reciprocity.
Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed who will chair the Nairobi conference “on behalf of all of Africa”, welcomed this declaration, which is “the reaffirmation of our expectations for the DDA and will build bridges for a substantial and credible result”, she told press in Brussels on 21 October, while stating that the work begun in 2001 remains a critical part.
“We are disappointed by the problems encountered in concluding the Doha round for development. This was nevertheless the basic commitment for ensuring that our interests are reflected. Any weakening can only lead to a disappointing result. We are committed to working with Kenya, the host country, for the conference to bring results for the ACP Group”, said Lesotho's Trade and Industry Minister Joshua Setipa, who chaired the ACP ministers' meeting. European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said she shared the disappointment of the ACP countries at the lack of political resolve from many WTO countries - which will make an agreement on all the areas of the Doha agenda difficult. “I really wish for the EU and ACP countries to stand side by side in trying to steer the discussion towards tangible results. Expanding opportunities to trade through the multilateral system is crucial to foster development and prosperity”, she told the ACP trade ministers. In Malmström's view, a means should be found for pursuing the negotiations beyond Nairobi and for exploring new approaches to finally break out of the impasse that is threatening the WTO's crucial role as trade negotiation forum. As WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo himself admitted, who gave the ACP trade ministers “a frank assessment” of the situation, “it is highly unlikely that results can be reached on internal and market access support on agriculture, industrial products and services. Nevertheless, there will be a resolve to reach more easily attainable results in the area of agriculture (export competition, export subsidies, export credit)”. An agreement on subsidies for exports would, in Azevedo's view, be a major result. He is convinced that results are within arm's reach for several priority questions for the LDCs, and a few development and food security questions. “The most likely is progress on export competition, a few provisions on transparency, a result for the LDCs”, he predicted. He then added: “It needs to be seen what will happen after Nairobi because whatever the result obtained in Nairobi, it will not be enough to conclude the DDA”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)