The 27 Trade Ministers of the EU Member States are meeting in Luxembourg on Friday 3 June, 11 days before the 12th ministerial conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has been postponed several times and will be held from 12 to 15 June in Geneva.
In Luxembourg, discussions between Ministers will focus on WTO reform, the trade repercussions of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. On this last point, an agreement is expected to be reached on a partial patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. However, consensus is far from being reached among WTO members.
The EU managed to reach an agreement with South Africa, the US and India in March (see EUROPE 12912/9), but WTO delegations have been arguing over the text for several weeks. At a meeting on intellectual property held on 1 June in Geneva, little progress was noted.
There is difficulty to find a consensus on other issues on which WTO members are supposed to agree before the MC12. Texts are to be adopted on: - subsidies for illegal fishing; - trade in agricultural products; - food security; - e-commerce; - a ministerial declaration on the WTO’s response to global challenges, with reference to the reform of the organisation.
A Trade Council will again be opened during the MC12 in Geneva and will allow EU Ministers to lock in their position ahead of the meetings and at the end of the conference through two sets of conclusions.
Trade relations with the US
Ministers will also discuss transatlantic trade relations, starting with a review of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting on 15-16 May (see EUROPE 12953/4).
Beyond the TTC, participants want to return to the work to resolve the disputes between the EU and the US. They must reach a comprehensive agreement on green steel and aluminium by the end of 2023, while tariff rate quotas are still applied to European steel and aluminium exports to the US. The dispute over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing is also still on the table. While a five-year suspension of tariffs was agreed last year (see EUROPE 12471/1), a final solution has yet to be found.
According to one source, there is still no clarity on how to reduce these controversial issues. “For the time being, the Ministers see that the US commitment on these issues is not yet up to their expectations”, the source said.
The EU would also like to have a strong US ally to push for WTO reform. While the US has said it is committed to this process, it continues to block the appointment of judges to the WTO’s Appellate Body.
EU-China relations
The Ministers of the EU27 will also discuss the latest developments in the trade relationship between the EU and Beijing. They are expected to discuss in particular a potential meeting of the EU-China High Level Dialogue on Economy and Trade. It was launched in 2008 to address issues of strategic importance such as trade, investment and economic relations. The last meeting was held in July 2020. The Ministers will exchange views with the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, who is chairing the forum, to identify priorities.
He will use the lunch to brief the Ministers on the ongoing bilateral negotiations for future free trade agreements as well as on the implementation of trade policy. The agreements with New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and India will be discussed, as well as the forthcoming presentation by the Commission of its 15-point action plan for sustainable development in free trade agreements. This text marks a milestone and a condition before the conclusion of negotiations with the above-mentioned countries. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)