Brussels / Geneva, 26/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - After a first reading, the 146 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) gave a cool reception on Monday to the draft final declaration presented the day before by Uruguayan Ambassador Carlos Perez del Castillo, with the support of the institution's Secretary General, Supachaï Panichpakdi (yesterday's EUROPE, p.2). It is "too much" or "not enough" according to complaints from the four corners of the Earth, without however rejecting the document which is largely based on the Euro-American framework while taking other positions present into account in the hope of bringing the farm talks out of impasse, the key to the Round's success. Consultation will therefore continue on this basis which should also be that, reviewed and corrected, of more political discussions that are to take place in Cancun, where the WTO is to hold its 5th ministerial conference from 10 September this year.
For Europeans, as for their trading partners, the project is "flawed, but not fundamentally flawed". "The document represents progress in some fields but allows serious problems to persist for the European Union", it was explained in Brussels on Tuesday the day after consultations with the EU15 representatives. From the European point of view, one of the remaining stumbling blocks is the "egalitarian" treatment reserved for refunds, export credits and state commercial companies, the most favourable treatment being conceded to Brazil which hardly differs from that reserved for the less advanced countries, with the term "not strong enough" used for non-trade concerns, etc. The spokesperson for the European Commission stressed that, on some elements, they were pleased but that on others there is still a great deal of work to do before Cancun and in Cancun. Peter Carl, Director General for Trade, expressed the Community feeling in Geneva saying that, as it is, the draft puts too many demands on the richest countries and not enough on the others, from which the Europeans continue to hope market access will be improved, mainly for industrial goods.
Similar views are expressed by the US. Richard Mills, spokesperson for the US Trade Representative, said the document sometimes made improvements but in other cases it misses its aim in the hope of winning consensus. Japan acknowledges the effort to be flexible but criticises the idea of putting an upper limit on import duty on agricultural products, adding that Japan's written contribution had not been taken into account. Australia, along with the “vast majority” of agricultural exporters, is disappointed. A Latin-American delegate commented that there was plenty of frustration. This was my best shot in terms of proposals, and I will now be listening to governments, said Perez del Castillo after the round of carps and criticisms. He said the text went as far as he thought possible in the Geneva process. The consultations will continue and the WTO's General Council will be meeting in Geneva this week, but reliable sources in Brussels suggest that it is unlikely the draft declaration (along with a letter outlining areas of agreement and divergences) will actually sent to Cancun.