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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Dec22/01) Geneva, 5 Dec (D. Ravi Kanth) — As the year comes to a close at the World Trade Organization, its director- general, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed frustration over the “persistent disconnect” between the views expressed in thse recent G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration about the successful conclusion of the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12) and “here in Geneva where we cannot make decisions on housekeeping matters.” Almost six months after MC12 concluded on 17 June, there is little or no progress on any of the outstanding issues in fisheries subsidies, agriculture, and more importantly on the extension of the MC12 Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement to cover diagnostics and therapeutics. Members also remained divided on who should chair the Doha negotiating bodies on agriculture and Rules respectively, amidst growing levels of distrust. At a formal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 30 November, which was preceded by an informal meeting of heads of delegation (HoD), differences came into the open on all major issues, as there was little common ground between many developing countries on the one side, and major developed countries, on the other, said participants, who asked not to be quoted. Significantly, the remarks made by the DG at the TNC meeting revealed her growing frustration that instead of things being “positive” at the WTO, the overall mood seems to be “negative” and “sullen”. She was rather perturbed that the failure to choose the chairs of the negotiating bodies on agriculture and Rules did not augur well at a time when the G20 leaders had expressed confidence in the WTO. Ms Okonjo-Iweala highlighted paragraph 36 of the recent Bali Leaders’ Declaration that had commended “the successful conclusion of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12),” and that, “we commit to seize and advance the positive momentum by engaging in active, constructive, pragmatic, and focused discussions on WTO reform to improve all its functions, including reform of the dispute settlement mechanisms, on the path leading to MC13.” Yet, “this positive view is what I have also expressed in my meetings with Ministers and stakeholders across the Membership,” she said at the TNC meeting. “So, it’s frankly somewhat frustrating and puzzling to see the disconnect between this positive view, and here in Geneva where we cannot make decisions on housekeeping matters,” she added. “I do not think we can afford to continue in this way for an international organization that is expected to contribute to resolving urgent global challenges,” the DG said, arguing that members will “have to find a way out of this impasse.” At the meeting, the chair of the WTO’s General Council (GC), Ambassador Didier Chambovey of Switzerland, reported on the consultations with different members that he had held along with the chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, Ambassador Athaliah Molokomme of Botswana, and the former GC chair, Ambassador Dacio Castillo of Honduras, to resolve the impasse on who should chair the two bodies, namely on agriculture and Rules. The Asian Group of Developing Countries (AGDC) had proposed Ambassador Ms Gothami Silva of Sri Lanka to chair the Doha Rules negotiating body and Turkiye’s Ambassador Mr Alparslan Acarsoy to chair the Doha agriculture negotiating body. In opposition to the AGDC candidates, the developed countries had proposed Ambassador Petter Olberg of Norway to chair the Rules negotiating body, and Ambassador Ms Clare Kelly of New Zealand to chair the agriculture negotiating body. The GC chair said, following consultations with members in different configurations, “consensus could only be reached if the two vacancies are filled at the same time.” Yet, the deadlock remained, the chair said, expressing serious concern at the impasse. The DG insisted that “despite the ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions,” the WTO is accorded importance in resolving global trade issues. She wants members not to “squander” this opportunity. CBFA MEETING On the following day after the TNC meeting on 30 November, members rejected the DG’s controversial budgetary proposal that would increase the trade body’s budget from CHF 197.2 million to CHF 212.45 million in 2023. At a meeting of the WTO’s Committee on Budget, Finance, and Administration (CBFA) on 1 December, the major industrialized countries including the United States, several members of the European Union, and some other members continued to respond negatively to Ms Okonjo-Iweala’s budget proposal, said people familiar with the development. Despite repeated rejections of the DG’s much-criticized budget proposal since October, there is no progress on the issue, said a person, who asked not to be quoted. The DG may have had some “questionable” success in the negotiations, but on her budget proposal, the major members have refused to budge in their continued opposition to agree to an increase in the WTO budget at this juncture, the person said. Another participant maintained that there is a “long, long way to go”, given the questions of alleged integrity swirling around the budget proposal, particularly at a time when the world economy is in the doldrums. Yet, the DG again went on to tout her budget proposal at a town hall meeting with staff on 1 December. She is understood to have said that “I am not the one to leave this battle”, even for the annual budget, where the overall mood among the staffers was “sullen” with her overall management of personnel, said several staffers, who asked not to be quoted. She claimed success in choosing new directors from outside with 50-50 gender considerations, including the new director of the Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division, Mr Santiago Wills, who was earlier the trade envoy of Colombia, and chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations. “I am proud to say that, of the six posts (for directors), we have managed a 50-50 gender balance – three women and three men,” said the DG. On the controversial WTO Secretariat’s transformation process, the DG claimed at the TNC meeting that “we have also made progress on the Secretariat Transformation Process. We have completed work on two aspects – rewards outside promotions and procurement. We expect to launch new approaches on rewards outside of promotions on 16 December. These are new policies. We will begin implementing them in January.” +
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