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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct26/01) WTO:
DG to hold informal meeting after being sidelined by USTR at G20 Geneva, 30 Sep (D. Ravi Kanth) -- The Director-General of the World Trade Organization has scheduled an informal Heads of Delegation (HoD) meeting on 1 October on how to generate "further momentum in our negotiating work", a development that apparently comes after the DG was not invited to the G20 trade ministers' meeting taking place in Wisconsin, United States on the same day, said people familiar with the development. The DG, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has had a constant presence in the G20 trade ministers' meetings, as well as in several G20 leaders' meetings, but, for some inexplicable reason, the US Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador Jamieson Greer, has seemingly decided not to invite the custodian of the multilateral trading system to the G20 meeting, said a trade envoy who asked not to be quoted. The WTO has remained silent on the DG's absence from the G20 trade ministers' meeting, to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when SUNS reached out for comment. According to a USTR press release, during the ministerial, Ambassador Greer "will spearhead discussions with the G20 trade ministers on a wide range of issues, including eliminating forced labor in global supply chains, updating the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) principle, denouncing the weaponization of trade in food, and addressing structural excess capacity and production." While the issues slated for discussion at the G20 trade ministers' meeting have seemingly raised sharp divisions among WTO members over the past week, it is rather perplexing as to why the DG has not been invited and whether it is an apparent slight to exclude the head of the 166-member global trade body, the trade envoy said. It appears rather intriguing as to why the DG has decided to convene an informal HoD meeting on 1 October knowing full well that trade envoys invariably travel with their ministers to assist them in the discussions and deliberations at the G20 meetings, said another trade envoy who asked not to be quoted. The fact that the DG chose to convene the informal meeting on 1 October also sends a signal that she does not care about the G20 trade ministers' meeting, the envoy said. INFORMAL TNC In an email (ICN/TNC/16) sent to Heads of Delegation on 28 September, seen by the SUNS, the DG posed a question to them to reflect on the reports issued by the chairs of the different negotiating bodies and on the way forward: "How can we generate further momentum in our negotiating work, while advancing in parallel important priorities, including WTO reform and the work of our Councils and Committees?" She also advised the trade envoys that "in considering this question, it would be useful to reflect on what we can do collectively to create the conditions for meaningful progress across these areas, while ensuring that our work remains mutually reinforcing and responsive to the priorities and interests of all Members." She wants members "to keep their interventions concise and focused" for three minutes, while coordinators of coalitions will be allowed to speak for five minutes. +
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