Issue
No. 651/652, 16 October – 15 November 2017
Uncertainty,
controversy surround lead-up to MC11
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No
convergence on MC11 issues or outcome
The final meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) before
the WTO’s eleventh Ministerial Conference (MC11) in December brought
into stark relief the lack of agreed outcomes for MC11 with just over
10 days to go. The following two articles report on WTO member states’
views and assessments of the state of play delivered at the TNC meet.
by D. Ravi Kanth
DG
proposes “minister facilitators”, chairs report on state of play
by Kanaga Raja
DG
queers pitch on partial outcome on subsidized IUU vessels
The WTO Director-General stepped into the fray in a bid to nudge member
states towards a partial outcome at MC11 on addressing subsidies contributing
to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
by D. Ravi Kanth
G90
setback as North nations refuse any outcome on S&DT
The outlook for a Buenos Aires agreement to provide greater flexibility
for developing countries in implementing certain WTO rules dimmed
due to persistent opposition from the developed countries.
by D. Ravi Kanth
Isolated US tries to block MC11 ministerial
declaration
The Buenos Aires Ministerial Conference faces the prospect of not
adopting a ministerial declaration at its conclusion as the US sought
to thwart an outcome document that would refer to the development
dimension of the WTO.
by D. Ravi Kanth
South
nations throw down gauntlet on e-commerce at MC11
The WTO membership remained divided over how to approach the contentious
issue of e-commerce at MC11, split between those which wanted to continue
with the existing WTO work programme of discussions and others which
called for upgraded negotiations.
by D. Ravi Kanth
MC11
e-commerce battle lines drawn across three camps
Stepping up negotiations on e-commerce at the WTO would only jeopardize
whatever progress developing countries have made in digital industrialization,
cautions Parminder Jeet Singh.
E-commerce
and the WTO
The corporate technology giants are seeking to rewrite the rules of
the digital economy through WTO disciplines on e-commerce. Deborah
James explains why the Big Tech agenda must be resisted.
E-commerce
at MC11 is effort to hijack basic Internet governance issues
The push for e-commerce negotiations in the WTO should be viewed in
the light of a global digital order which has enabled growing corporate
concentration and eroded democracy.
by Chakravarthi Raghavan
PR
disaster for MC11 as host denies accreditation to many NGOs
The Argentine host government dropped a bombshell in the final stretch
of the run-up to MC11 by barring some 60 representatives of local
and international non-governmental organizations from participating
in the conference. We publish below three contemporaneous reports,
run in chronological order, documenting the developments as they unfolded,
from the seemingly shifting official narrative surrounding the ban
to the reactions to what has been seen as “an outrageous and worrying
precedent”.
by Chakravarthi Raghavan
Don’t
hold MC11 in Argentina unless NGO ban is rescinded, WTO urged
by Kanaga Raja
Ever-changing
narrative on Argentine NGO ban for MC11
by Chakravarthi Raghavan
Opinion:
Beware public-private partnerships
Public-private partnerships are often expensive, risky and unfavourable
to the public interest.
by Jomo Kwame Sundaram
