The Foreign Affairs Council in its ‘Trade’ configuration will meet in the margins of the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, in Yaoundé (Cameroon), between 26 and 29 March, against a backdrop of major trade tensions and trade disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East.
In formal terms, EU trade ministers are expected to approve a first set of conclusions at the start of MC14, setting out the EU’s expectations for the Conference.
Once the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference are sufficiently clear, ministers will consider approving a second set of conclusions.
They will also attempt to adopt a decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the EU to formally support the adoption of the legally binding conclusions of this Ministerial Conference.
A long-awaited reform. One of the main issues to be examined by the 166 WTO member states is the reform of the institution to modernise its architecture and processes.
This reform is built around three pillars - predictability, fairness and flexibility - in a bid to respond to the current challenges of trade frictions, industrial overcapacity problems in China and rivalries between major powers.
The Conference also aims to find a solution to re-establish the dispute settlement system, which has been paralysed for years due to the refusal of the United States to appoint judges to the Appellate Body.
For MEP Bernd Lange (S&D, German), Chair of the European Parliament’s INTA Committee (see EUROPE 13815/11) and head of an eight-member European Parliament delegation to Yaoundé, the mission is clear. “We can no longer postpone WTO modernisation. As a minimum, we need a work plan for reform that will lead to significant changes in coming months”, he said on social network X.
Commercial disruption caused by the war in the Middle East. Another major challenge that members could hardly have anticipated a month ago is the conflict in the Middle East, which began on 28 February following an attack on Iran by the United States and Israel.
For the WTO, disruptions to supplies of oil and gas, as well as fertilisers, represent a new challenge. Under normal circumstances, a third of the world’s fertiliser exports, which are essential for global agriculture, pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently partially blocked by Iran.
Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Director General of the WTO, told AFP that “the number one cause for concern today is fertilisers”. “If there is no more fertiliser, there will be an effect on quantity, but also on prices”, he warned.
The integration of plurilateral agreements into the WTO legal framework will also be discussed. These agreements notably concern the facilitation of investment for development and e-commerce.
Members will also try to find a solution for the multilateral moratorium on e-commerce in order to ensure “predictability and stability” for businesses, as the EU Council points out in a press release. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)