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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul21/26) Geneva, 29 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) – The members of the World Trade Organization on 28 July concluded the last General Council (GC) meeting before the summer break on a somewhat sombre and divisive note, failing to converge on any of the topics discussed during the GC meeting, said people familiar with the discussions. The meeting ended with a spat, after Hong Kong (China) blocked the appointment of the Chinese Taipei ambassador as chair of the Committee on Government Procurement, which oversees implementation of the Government Procurement Agreement. Japan along with a group of countries, including the US, opposed Hong Kong’s decision, stating that it is unfair to block Chinese Taipei’s candidate Ambassador Dr Chang-Fa Lo as the chair of the Government Procurement Committee, according to people familiar with the development. According to a post on the WTO website, the General Council also on 28 July noted consensus on a slate of names of chairpersons for the 14 subsidiary bodies that report to the Goods Council. DIVISIONS GALORE ON SEVERAL TOPICS Members remained sharply divided on several topics on the GC agenda at the meeting. Members, for example, rejected Brazil’s draft ministerial decision on fisheries subsidies as it allegedly re-interprets SDG 14.6 and the Buenos Aires ministerial decision on fisheries subsidies. The Brazilian draft decision, contained in document WT/GC/W/815 and titled “Sustainability of the ocean and fishing communities”, has called for affirming “its [the Ministerial Conference] commitment to a meaningful and ambitious outcome in the negotiations on fisheries subsidies at the World Trade Organization with a view to fulfilling the mandate from Heads of Government in the Sustainable Development Goal 14.6, and the mandate from WTO Ministers, to curb subsidies that threaten global maritime fish stocks.” The draft decision recalled that the percentage of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels has significantly dropped over the past three decades and that the efforts made so far by many countries and regions have not been sufficient to reverse the global trend of overfished stocks. It expressed “serious concerns with certain policies and practices of massive subsidization that lead to overcapacity and overfishing and contribute to the depletion of global fish stocks, as well as to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.” The Brazilian draft decision states that “the most important multilateral negotiation of the WTO today has a sustainability purpose” and noted that “WTO Members have a crucial and historical role to play in securing a robust agreement.” It reaffirmed the “collective responsibility for the fishing resources and the livelihoods of millions of people around the world who are dependent on capture fisheries.” The Brazilian draft decision calls on “WTO Members [to] commit to deliver the highest standards of environmental sustainability in reaching a final conclusion of the multilateral agreement on fisheries subsidies, for the benefit of the ocean and our fishing communities.” In response to the Brazilian proposal, a large majority of developing and least-developed countries, including the coordinators of the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) Group, the African Group, the CARICOM (Caribbean Community), India, and South Africa among others raised severe concerns. Several developing and least-developed countries challenged the Brazilian proposal, particularly on the omission of special and differential treatment (S&DT), said people familiar with the discussions. In its intervention, India apparently said while it is fully committed to the negotiations on fisheries subsidies under UN SDG 14.6 and the MC11 (Buenos Aires) decision, it shared its concerns regarding lack of explicit reference to S&DT. Apparently, at the previous GC meeting, India had asked Brazil to clarify some of the phrases like ambitious outcome, curing subsidies that threatened global maritime fish stocks, improving the existing disciplines on fisheries subsidies, and the highest standards of environmental sustainability. However, Brazil has not clarified the value and importance of the above phrases, India said at the meeting. Moreover, the Brazilian proposal, under the garb of “collective responsibility”, puts countries with no or very few industrial fishing fleets on par with countries having highly industrialized fishing fleets, India said, adding that this ignores the “polluter pays” principle. India also referred to the statements made by ministers at the 15 July ministerial meeting on fisheries subsidies, where more than 80 countries said the chair’s draft consolidated text fails to offer adequate S&DT, according to people familiar with the discussions. South Africa said members are guided by ministerial mandates like the MC11 decision on fisheries subsidies as well as the UN SDG 14.6, said people familiar with the development. According to South Africa, the draft ministerial decision tabled by Brazil appears to re-interpret the mandates in ways that are not helpful and fails to make any reference to S&DT, said people familiar with the discussions. To address the sustainability objectives of the mandate, members need to follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, it said. On several other topics on the GC agenda, there was little convergence, such as on the draft General Council decision submitted by the European Union on procedural guidelines for WTO Councils and Committees addressing trade concerns; proposed General Council decision on procedures to enhance transparency and notification requirements under WTO agreements proposed by the US along with many other countries; and the legal status of the Joint Statement Initiatives introduced by South Africa and India among others, said people familiar with the meeting. Notwithstanding the sombre atmosphere, the director-general Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged the members to have a good summer break and come back in September with sleeves rolled-up.
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