Key South nations insist on addressing unresolved Doha issues before new issues

A recent meeting of trade ministers from several prominent WTO member states saw developing-country participants stress the need to address pending issues under the Doha Work Programme, amid a push by developed countries to bring new subjects onto the WTO agenda.

by D. Ravi Kanth

GENEVA: Trade ministers from key developing countries who took part in an informal mini-ministerial meet in Oslo on 21-22 October called for completing work on unresolved Doha issues and the permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security, while expressing their reservations/opposition to new issues such as electronic commerce and disciplines for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, trade envoys told the South-North Development Monitor (SUNS).

During the one-and-a-half-day meeting, trade ministers from many developing countries – India, Indonesia, China, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco (on behalf of African countries), Rwanda [representing the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries] and Benin [which is the coordinator for the grouping of least-developed countries (LDCs)] – demanded that work on the permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security must be completed before the WTO’s next Ministerial Conference, which is due to take place in Buenos Aires next year.

On the agricultural Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), the trade ministers from India, Indonesia, Morocco, Rwanda and Benin, among others, said this is a vital developmental issue for developing countries and cannot be pushed to the future trade agenda.

The developing-country ministers also emphasized that accelerating work on special and differential flexibilities and developmental issues in the Doha Work Programme must remain as priorities for the Buenos Aires meeting.

On cotton, which is a major issue for the West African countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad, trade ministers of developing countries and some developed countries such as New Zealand said an outcome must remain as a top priority for the Buenos Aires meeting.

Indian trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored the need for “creating a level playing field for the developing countries in agriculture trade by addressing inequities and distortions which are threatening the livelihood of millions of poor farmers across the world.”

She also cautioned against bringing regional and plurilateral agreements into the WTO architecture on grounds that they are not compatible.

“Future agenda”

Ahead of the Oslo meeting, host country Norway had suggested in a concept paper: “In Nairobi [the previous WTO Ministerial Conference, which was held in the Kenyan capital in 2015], we agreed that work on issues and Ministerial Decisions of special interest for developing countries (including the decisions on domestic support, public stockholding for food security purposes, a Special Safeguard Mechanism, and cotton) will remain important elements of the WTO’s future agenda.”

“The issues that are at the forefront of the discussions leading up to MC 11 [the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference, in Buenos Aires], including agriculture, fisheries subsidies, domestic regulation in services, e-commerce and Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), as demonstrated by the high level of engagement in Geneva on these issues, are all of interest to developing members,” the Norwegian concept paper claimed.

The Oslo meeting has proved that the Norwegian concept paper was based on false premises and erroneous interpretations, according to a participant who asked not to be quoted.

“The developing countries pointed an accusing finger at the hosts and other developed countries, including the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo, for attempting to change the agenda for the Buenos Aires meeting to suit the United States and other industrialized and some developing countries,” the participant said.

[The Norwegian concept paper’s claim that work on issues of special interest to developing countries, as per the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, will remain part of the future agenda is as misleading as Azevedo’s recent comment to Indian daily The Hindu that no development issue has been taken off the table and that all development issues remain on the table.

[This has been a constant confidence trick played on developing countries almost from the inception of the WTO’s predecessor, the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) forum, according to Chakravarthi Raghavan, Editor Emeritus of SUNS and veteran trade analyst who has been following trade talks over time. At every round, developing-country proposals, whether for tariff cuts on their exports or other developmental measures, have never been acted upon but left on the table and put onto a future work programme.

[When developing countries, after repeated frustration, convened the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) way back in 1964 (resulting in UNCTAD becoming an organ of the UN General Assembly), they were sought to be fobbed off with Part IV of the GATT (the chapter on “Trade and Development”), with “best endeavour” provisions and provisions still at ‘talkathon’ stage.

[If developing countries fall for a similar line this time, the trading system that has already lost support in the North will meet a similar fate in the South, along with their acquiescent governments. – SUNS]

Domestic support

On agricultural domestic support, the Norwegian concept paper sought to push the issue to the future trade agenda. But a large number of trade ministers in Oslo said they want an outcome on domestic support based on the Doha mandates.

The US, however, stuck to its indefensible position that it will discuss domestic support only when emerging countries – China and India – agree to undertake commitments.

China said that it will not agree to any domestic support commitments unless the major developed countries reduce/eliminate their Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS).

India said it is not developing countries but the developed countries – the US and the EU – which are required to reduce their domestic support.

Rwanda (on behalf of ACP countries), Morocco (on behalf of African countries), Benin (on behalf of the LDCs) and several other countries said an outcome on domestic support is essential at Buenos Aires.

South Africa expressed skepticism as to whether an outcome on domestic support is possible given the opposition from major developed countries.

Brazil, which has made a proposal on e-commerce, said it will discuss issues in e-commerce based on the progress on agricultural domestic support.

South Africa said it remains opposed to negotiating rules for e-commerce, while India adopted a nuanced position saying that new issues cannot run ahead of the unresolved Doha issues.

China has declared its opposition to data flows and removal of localization restrictions. China also said that the e-commerce negotiations cannot result in any market access commitments.

On fisheries subsidies, Rwanda (on behalf of the ACP Group), Morocco (for the African Group), Benin (for the LDCs), New Zealand, Argentina, the EU, Russia and several other countries underscored the need for a credible outcome.

Indonesia spoke of the special and differential treatment flexibilities. India said millions of its poor fishermen must be adequately protected/supported while addressing fisheries subsidies.

China said it is willing to address fisheries subsidies only if members also take up other issues of the Doha rules negotiations, particularly improvements in trade remedies such as anti-dumping measures.

South Africa said an outcome on fisheries subsidies is possible.

As regards services and domestic regulation, many ministers said there must be clear deliverables in domestic support.

India insisted on an outcome on trade facilitation in services, while several other countries spoke about the need to reduce “water” in the market access between bound commitments and autonomous reductions.

India said that removal of “water” cannot be done disproportionately, said another participant familiar with the meeting. India also demanded that trade facilitation in services must remain as a major deliverable at the Buenos Aires meeting.

The US and Canada remained silent on India’s demand on trade facilitation in services.

Trade ministers also discussed the question of disciplines on small and medium-sized enterprises in fairly general terms but China said the discussion must address anti-dumping issues.

Several trade ministers also touched on renewed interest in addressing non-tariff barriers, sanitary and phytosani-tary measures, and technical barriers to trade.

E-commerce

In the face of the sharp reservations and even opposition in some cases from trade ministers of developing countries against e-commerce/digital trade, WTO Director-General Azevedo urged the proponents of e-commerce from major developed and some developing countries to explain and clarify their positions, according to a trade envoy from an industrialized country.

However, following the Oslo meeting, Azevedo is now adopting a different strategy by planning to hold one-on-one meetings with trade envoys from Morocco, Rwanda and other African countries to discuss negotiating issues, including on e-commerce, people familiar with the development told SUNS.

At a WTO meeting on 18 October (see following article), all but three members of the African Group had spoken in one voice against pursuing e-commerce in violation of the 1998 WTO work programme on the issue.

To turn the page on what happened at the 18 October session, Azevedo seems to have taken it upon himself to convince the African countries to give up their opposition on behalf of the proponents from developed and developing countries, trade envoys said.

In the past, Azevedo had adopted the same tactic whenever there was opposition from developing countries to issues such as trade facilitation (in goods trade).

For example, on behalf of the US and other proponents of trade facilitation, Azevedo held one-on-one meetings with trade ministers at the WTO’s ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali in 2013 to address specific concerns instead of addressing them in an open house where all trade ministers could be present.

Cuba had opposed meeting Azevedo on its specific concerns regarding trade facilitation on the grounds that he represented the interests of the US, sources familiar with the development told SUNS.

More important, said a trade envoy, Azevedo must persuade the US, Australia and Canada to give up their opposition on the permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security and the SSM.

The Oslo meeting must serve as a wake-up call to the developing countries to remain vigilant and not take things for granted, as the developed countries remain desperate and determined to bring in the issues of e-commerce, MSMEs and fisheries subsidies without addressing the core Doha issues, according to several developing-country trade envoys familiar with the development. (SUNS8340)                                         

Third World Economics, Issue No. 627, 16-31 October 2016, pp2-4