Brussels/Geneva, 31/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) made its final roundup on Wednesday ahead of the Doha ministerial meeting, where it is counting on launching the 9th trade round in one of the most encouraging economic and political climates. A small number of issues are still subject to dangerous battles of power, but the overall trend is for compromise. It is no doubt with a degree of prudent optimism impregnated with realism that the 142 countries' ambassadors will now be contacting or returning to their capital cities for a final briefing before the moment of truth.
On 9/13 November, the ministers will have in front of them three new documents that the Hong Kong ambassador, Stuart Harbison, formally unveiled on Wednesday to WTO Permanent Representatives in Geneva. The President of the WTO's management board, the General Council, has ruled out amending the package in the meantime (described as a "vast and balanced" package) that the 142 countries have already had the time to examine and comment upon it. The main points of the package are:
1) Implementation and development. The most pressing of the hundred or so problems that developing countries encounter in implementing existing agreements will be settled either immediately as soon as an agreement on a particular point is reached, or by the relevant decision making powers at the WTO, that will make an assessment of its work by the end of 2002 in order to be able to take the necessary measures swiftly. The least developed countries will also gain better market access and a better "special, differentiated" treatment. To the ministerial declaration setting out the world programme for the future trade round, and to the package of implementation decisions, has been added a ministerial declaration on aspects of intellectual property rights linked with trade and access to medicines. This text has been painstakingly negotiated, down to the last comma, by experts in Geneva. It clarifies actions that public authorities can take to deal with health crises in the face of the protection that the TRIPS agreement gives patented medicines, while stressing the demand to preserve the incentive to innovate that TRIPS grants the pharmaceutical industry.
2) Agriculture. Agricultural negotiations that started last year will continue in the new round right up until the deadline in order to gradually eliminate all types of export subsidy and substantially reduce domestic aid that creates uneven playing fields. The specific needs of developing countries will be taken into account, including food safety and rural development needs and "non-trade" concerns.
Services. The second sectoral negotiation already in progress will also integrate the round and will continue on the basis of the many proposals already submitted in Geneva concerning a wide series of sectors and several horizontal problems, as well as on the movement of "natural persons" (in other words, individuals and not companies).
Industrial tariffs. The aim is to reduce or eliminate, as need be, tariff and non-tariff barriers.
TRIPS. In addition to the clarification mentioned above, specific provisions will be negotiated with a view to creating a multilateral system for notification and registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits, within two years. The other aspects of this problem (extension of the field of current protection) are referred back to the specialised WTO body, which should also examine relations between TRIPs and the Convention on biological diversity, protection of know-how and traditional folklore, etc.
Investment and competition. The arrangements for negotiations in these fields will be finalised within two years but the key elements for a "possible multilateral framework" have already been specified, leaving the question of the approach (plurilateral or multilateral) of these talks still outstanding.
Transparency of public procurement. Negotiations should above all determine the nature of all additional commitments and their implementation, taking the situation of LDCs into account.
Trade facilitation to reduce red tape and other administrative burdens for traders.
Anti-dumping and anti-subsidies. The disciplines for the use of these trade protection instruments should be clarified and improved, including subsidies to the halieutic sector, without, however, denaturing the existing arsenal as LDC needs must be taken into account.
Dispute settlement. Here too, improvements and clarification is sought.
Environment. Work will continue over the next two years within the relevant committee in Geneva, including in order to determine whether it is necessary to clarify certain WTO rules and whether it is "desirable" to initiate negotiation in order to take measures necessary.
E-commerce. Institutional arrangements remain to be decided within two years and, in the meantime, the member countries will abstain from establishing customs duties on electronic transmissions.
Social norms. This subject, already included in the preamble to the previous text, has been filled out somewhat to recognise that the International Labour Organisation is the appropriate place for substantial and far-reaching dialogue.
On the basis of these three new projects (ministerial declarations on the work programme and TRIPS, decision on implementation), the preparations speeded up again this week, in fact so much so that the ministers will no doubt have over half a dozen questions to settle in order to come to a successful conclusion. For the time being, four or five negotiating themes are still being presented as potentially fatal pitfalls for the collective quest of consensus. India, which says it is speaking on behalf of many LDCs, still calls for a solution to the problems of implementation as a preliminary to its commitment in its new round, and mainly insists on speeding up the dismantling process for textile quotas and relaxing restrictions on access to medicines in the event of epidemics such as AIDs or tuberculosis. "It is clear that, unless our concerns are heard, the credibility and the reputation of the WTO, which is already very low, will be damaged still further", said Trade Minister Murasoli Maran, on Wednesday. All the more as "from the economic, political and social standpoints, it might not be feasible for India to enter a new trade round", he said. The Fifteen, speaking in a single voice through the Commission, calls for texts to be improved "here and there", mainly with regards agriculture, the environment, social issues and TRIPS, and by also doing away with certain "ambiguities" concerning investment, competition, subsidies in the fisheries sector and textiles. And they give preference to the granting of "effective" access by the poorer countries to essential medicines in the event of epidemics. However, although the United States wants the existing margin of flexibility to be used to this effect, it still refuses the solution on which those interested insist, namely India and Brazil in particular. This is far too vague, Washington objects, wishing to safeguard the solid protection granted to pharmaceutical patents, nonetheless accepting a reprieve of ten years for the poorest countries (until 2016) for implementing existing rules. On agriculture, the leading US negotiator, Robert Zoellick, directly criticised on Tuesday not the Union but Japan as, he said, this country has so far not done much to contribute to the success of the conference because of the "paralysis" it is suffering from, and "this is a serious problem". In his view, Tokyo refuses to support any "substantial" agricultural reform and is intransigent on just about everything, including anti-dumping, a very sensitive question for Washington (albeit willing for some time to agree that it should be on the negotiating table). And, although the Americans no longer seem to be particularly keen on export subsidies (Mr Zoellick did not even mention them), they insist however on the transparency of public procurement, and of customs procedures, as well as WTO activities. They also support growing cooperation between the institution and the ILO and say they are ready to explore the possibility of forming a link between trade and the environment, as long as this does not serve as a pretext for blocking access by their agricultural exports to certain markets. One of the US priorities in the possible round is to gain better access to the market for their farm exports, as well as industrial exports and services, said Mr Zoellick.