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Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May24/11) Geneva, 17 May (D. Ravi Kanth) — The chair of the World Trade Organization’s General Council has issued a streamlined agenda for its upcoming meeting on 22 May, but none of the major items inscribed in the agenda seem to focus on the “systemic” crises afflicting the multilateral trade body, said people familiar with the development. With the WTO having become “rudderless” and the Marrakesh Agreement being chipped away at the margins, the time has come to discuss up-front the allegedly unilateral trade and industrial policies being implemented by some major members based on national security priorities, said a former trade envoy who asked not to be quoted. Given the “tectonic shocks” to the multilateral trading system due to a series of allegedly unilateral measures being implemented by the trade majors, the Uruguay Round agreements are being undermined in the area of goods, agriculture, services, and trade-related intellectual property rights, the envoy said. Significantly, the raft of “systemic” problems being faced by the WTO may require a paradigmatic shift, as the Uruguay Round agreements based on the notion of seamless globalization are coming unstuck, according to several reports, including one by The Economist magazine in its latest issue of 11 May. As regards the upcoming General Council meeting on 22-23 May, its chair, Ambassador Petter Olberg of Norway, has circulated a detailed agenda on how the discussions ought to be carried out on some 15 items. In a restricted document (Job/GC/394), seen by the SUNS, the chair listed one item “for action/decision”, namely, “A report by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration meeting of 25 March 2024.” It may be recalled that contrary to the WTO Director-General’s repeated pleas for a budget hike, the WTO appears to have notched a surplus of almost $5 million last year, an increase that promoted her to seek “stepping up our recruitment to hire the very best staff.” It remains to be seen how the members who had agreed to a modest budget hike last year will respond to this latest development. The items slated for discussion at the upcoming General Council meeting include: * Report by the Chairperson of the Trade Negotiations Committee and Report by the Director-General. This is a standing item on the General Council agenda. The Chairperson of the Trade Negotiations Committee and Director-General will make a statement on developments since her last report to the General Council. The General Council chair will then open the floor to delegations. * Follow-up to Outcomes of MC13 (Abu Dhabi). The General Council chair intends “to make some observations on my recent conversations and contacts with delegations, as well as on how I see the way forward on a range of follow-up MC13 matters under the General Council.” He will “then open the floor. In the discussion, I will be particularly interested in hearing Member’s reactions to my reflections and ideas on possible ways forward, and any specific suggestions Members may have on how to carry work forward with a view to bridging gaps and building convergences.” * Moving Agriculture Negotiations Forward – Communication from Brazil (WT/GC/W/931). According to the General Council chair, this is an important item concerning how agriculture negotiations can be moved forward. Brazil, which is propelling this discussion, has made several suggestions to break the deadlock in the agriculture negotiations. According to information provided in the General Council (GC) agenda on Brazil’s proposal (WT/GC/W/931), “building on the information provided at the previous General Council and Brazil’s informal outreach meetings, the document is submitted for a plenary discussion on a roadmap to establish a process for comprehensive agriculture negotiations towards MC14.” “The discussion is in preparation for a decision to be taken at the July GC, as the result of a process of consultations starting right after the May GC.” * Policy Space for Industrial Development – Advancing WTO Committee Work to Support Structural Transformation and Industrial Development in Developing Countries – Request from the African Group. According to the General Council chair, this item is on the agenda at the request of the African Group. The chair will invite the African Group to introduce the item and he will then open the floor to delegations. The African Group provided the following information: “Building on activities and discussions prior to and at MC13, the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the WTO, and with a view to substantively meaningful development-oriented outcomes at MC14 in Cameroon, this item aims to inform WTO Members of the activities and initiatives that the African Group will be advancing in pursuance of the objectives substantively outlined in the submissions of the African Group on Policy Space for Industrial Development. Through a series of sector-focussed discussions, including on critical raw materials in the context of the green transition, this item seeks to reaffirm the priority and highlight the importance of expanding policy space and policy tools in some WTO agreements to unlock Africa’s productive capacities and support the structural transformation and industrialisation of her economies. “Members are expected to take note of this update and share their thoughts on the structure of engagement envisaged by the African Group towards the proposed re-calibration of WTO rules to meet the objective of diversification and industrialization and confront other contemporary challenges such as climate change, food security, the digital divide. The African Group shall formally table a comprehensive submission and concrete work programme in this regard to the General Council meeting in July 2024.” “RESPONSIBLE CONSENSUS” Singapore, along with seven other co-sponsors, including Norway, appear to be pushing hard to depart from the principle of “consensus-based decision-making”, a cornerstone of the Marrakesh Agreement. It remains to be seen how members intend to respond to this controversial issue, which is also on the General Council agenda. Members of the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) Group have issued a proposal (WT/GC/W/932) to oppose any change in “consensus-based decision-making” at the WTO. The ACP Group provided additional information on its proposal for preserving the practice of consensus-based decision-making. It said that: “Our ACP Group has listened to other Members make references to terms such as “constructive”, “flexible” and “responsible” consensus. However, at a systemic level, our Group has concerns with any attempt to modify or qualify the rules for decision-making found in the Agreement Establishing the WTO and WTO practice. “Therefore, communication WT/GC/W/932 is intended as a meaningful contribution to discussions around consensus decision-making, with the overall aim of preserving the current practice in line with the WTO’s founding Agreement.” On the issue of “responsible consensus,” the proponents – Costa Rica; The Gambia; Korea; Norway; Peru; Singapore; Switzerland; and Chinese Taipei – seek “to underline the importance of strengthening and preserving the practice of decision-making by consensus, which is valued by all Members because it ensures that the views of all Members are equally heard and considered in the decision-making processes of the WTO, thereby promoting equity and inclusivity. It is critical to ensure that the practice of consensus facilitates decision-making, so that the WTO can deliver substantive outcomes and remain relevant. “Hence, this communication proposes a collective good faith commitment by all WTO Members to (i) pursue national interests while supporting the systemic interests of the WTO; (ii) adopt a win-win approach in negotiations by exercising flexibility and making compromises in order to reach agreement; and (iii) engage in negotiations based on facts and evidence.” The proposal on “responsible consensus” appears to be like Orwellian “double-speak” to undermine the practice of consensus-based decision-making, said a person, who asked not to be quoted. Aside from these items, India intends to make a statement at the General Council meeting on “Reinvigoration of the Work Programme on E-Commerce – Discussion in all mandated WTO bodies, including General Council Dedicated Sessions.” India provided additional information, citing the MC13 decision on this issue. It said: “We welcome the constructive engagement in the Dedicated Discussions which included the exchange of experiences and submissions on several e-commerce-related topics and agree to deepen such discussions on e-commerce-related topics as identified by Members building on work from previous Dedicated Discussion. “Through this item, we seek to start a discussion on how the Work Programme on E-Commerce can be reinvigorated. Members may provide their suggestions for this reinvigoration within the General Council as well as other mandated bodies. The General Council can consider reinstating dedicated discussions on the lines of the format used in 2023. These sessions were widely appreciated and created a useful body of knowledge on e-commerce-related subjects.” As reported earlier in the SUNS, in separate proposals on development from India and China, the chair listed the two items for further discussion at the General Council meeting. India provided additional information on its proposal, saying that it wants to “take forward the discussions on the development dimension in the WTO that India has initiated under item 7 of the March GC meeting. We seek to strengthen the discussions on the issue of development in the working of all regular bodies of this Organization, so that the momentum on development discussions continues in a focused and structured way, and we make concerted efforts to comply with the Ministers’ decisions and directions on the core area of our work. The guiding questions will facilitate in shaping up the discussion for a way forward towards concrete and meaningful outcomes in the development dimension and make progress in the substantial unfinished agenda.” In its proposal on “reflections on approaches to development issues”, China provided additional information. It said that: “In this communication, China presents some reflections on the approaches to development issues, building on the progress in MC13. The key reflections include new perspectives, not only positions, incremental steps, stronger capacity building, and special and differential treatment. “This paper also provides some suggestions on a way forward. It is hoped that such reflections and suggestions could be conducive to more meaningful discussions and concrete deliverables on outcomes for development.” IFDA Around 125 WTO members are seeking “Incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement into Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement”, which was opposed at the last General Council meeting. In the additional information they provided, the co-sponsors pressed “to continue substantive discussions before reaching a decision on the legal incorporation of the IFD Agreement (IFDA) into the WTO Agreement. The revised communication by 125 Members Parties to the IFDA (WT/GC/W/927/Rev.1) will be circulated soon.” Meanwhile, the General Council chair said that he intends to provide “an update on the implementation work concerning Ministerial Decisions of MC12, MC11, MC10 and MC9 in the respective Councils and Committees.” The focus will be on areas where there have been new developments to report since the last report on these matters to the General Council, he added. +
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