The 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to close on Thursday 16 June, rather than Wednesday 15 June as originally scheduled. The organization’s Director General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in consultation with the MC12 Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and facilitators, said that the extension could lead to results. The closing ceremony scheduled for 3pm on Thursday 16 June could also be postponed again, if only by a few hours.
Delegations seen in the corridors of the WTO are cautious about the outcome of the conference, but few ministers are inclined to go home without a result. Extensive small group and bilateral meetings are underway on all issues to reconcile positions. The WTO spokesperson, Daniel Pruzin, said he was “optimistic” about the outcome of the conference. To everyone’s surprise, the subject of trade and health is the one that seems closest to an agreement at this stage.
Pandemic response
There is renewed hope among several delegations and facilitators. There is broad convergence on the declaration on trade and health, including intellectual property (‘TRIPS waiver’). The text on the response to the pandemic is almost final, according to two sources. However, several delegations regretted the reduced ambition of the initial version, which was supposed to include more transparency on trade measures for health products, etc.
What remains to be negotiated in this trade and health package is mainly between China and the United States, which are at odds over which countries will benefit from the flexibilities on intellectual property. “It is mainly a political issue rather than a real beneficiary issue”, according to a source close to the negotiations (see EUROPE 12971/11). Discussions are still ongoing between the two powers to try to reach an agreement.
Organisational reform
Discussions still seem to focus on the modalities for conducting the work on the reform. Members agree on the need to reform the WTO, in particular to unblock the dispute settlement system. Again, India is blocking progress, according to a Geneva source.
Fisheries subsidies
However, agreement on some texts is beginning to slip away. This is particularly the case on the subject of fisheries subsidies, where some countries maintain apparently irreconcilable positions.
India’s Minister of Trade, Shri Piyush Goyal, was firm in a statement saying that his country cannot close the negotiations without obtaining a 25-year transition period before having to implement the provisions of the agreement and thus end certain fisheries subsidies. Such a delay is not acceptable to the French Minister for Trade, Franck Riester.
Food security
Three members continue to oppose the texts on food safety, which are dealt with in an ‘agriculture’ package. For India, which is among the reluctant parties, the issue of public food stocks must be resolved before anything can be adopted in relation to export restrictions.
The United States has submitted a proposal to try to address these concerns. They suggested amending the declaration on reform of the agricultural system with stronger language on addressing public food stocks by the 13th Ministerial Conference.
However, it is difficult to assess whether such a solution will be sufficient to convince the reluctant to lift their blockade, according to several sources. The enthusiasm shown by the facilitators of the negotiations on the food security texts is waning, say two sources.
E-Commerce
Again, discussions seem to be stalled on the renewal of the moratorium on e-commerce. Several countries are strongly opposed to the extension and do not seem to want to make a move towards other members. The facilitator of the negotiations and Minister of the State of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Keisal Peters, urged members to be pragmatic in their discussions. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)