Brussels, 02/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - Pascal Lamy had only just taken up his duties on 1 September as the new Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) when he was solicited by various parties interested in a satisfactory outcome to the Doha Round of trade talks, expected during the ministerial conference in Hong Kong from 13 to 16 December (see EUROPE 8883 and 8958). All stress that time is short.
UNICE, the voice of European employers, thus states in a press release that, with just three months to go before the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, “there is no time to lose”. UNICE states that the “strong commitment and dedication” for the multilateral process shown by Lamy's predecessor, Supachai Panitchpakdi, leaves the WTO with a “solid basis” for allowing Pascal Lamy to move forward, and calls on the members of the WTO to adopt a “constructive and forward-looking approach” to the key negotiating issues including agriculture, services and trade facilitation. UNICE President Ernest-Antoine Seillière looks forward to contributing to the success of the Hong Kong meeting.
At the level of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), which has represented the main employer associations of member states since 1962, warns Pascal Lamy it has “high expectations” of him. “We hope that he can breathe life into the stalled Doha trade negotiations. Given the reluctance of most governments to compromise on the key issues at hand, Mr Lamy has a Herculean task before him”, said BIAC Secretary General, Thomas R. Vant, who invites governments to enhance their commitment through cooperation.
Céline Charveriat, from Oxfam International, urges the new director general on saying: “WTO talks are in crisis and poor countries' interests are being sidelined. Pascal Lamy must remind members that this round of talks was meant to be about development”. In her view, Mr Lamy should above all encourage developed country members to prioritise progress on agriculture, especially cotton, and push for a more inclusive and transparent process for negotiations, while avoiding putting pressure on developing countries to accept an agreement at any price. “Success will not come without concerted effort from all members, especially the rich countries. Without cooperation from the EU and US, even the most influential Director General in the world would not be able to deliver a result that helped reduce poverty”, Céline Charveriat said.