WTO: 2006 NEWS ITEMS
WTO NEWS — DDA JUNE/JULY 2006 MODALITIES: MEETING SUMMARY 28 JUNE
Lamy outlines schedule for ‘moment-of-truth’ meetings
From Friday 30 June 2006, a series of meetings open to all members, alternating with hard talking among a representative group of ministers and other forms of consultations, will aim to produce “vital operational decisions” over the weekend.
> Director-General’s
statement to 28 June informal meeting
>
June/July 2006 Modalities main page
NOTE:
THIS BRIEFING NOTE IS DESIGNED TO HELP JOURNALISTS AND THE PUBLIC
UNDERSTAND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DOHA AGENDA NEGOTIATIONS. WHILE EVERY
EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE THE CONTENTS ARE ACCURATE, IT DOES NOT
PREJUDICE MEMBER GOVERNMENTS' POSITIONS.
THE ISSUES EXPLAINED:
> Hong Kong
briefing notes
> Agriculture
> Cotton
> Non-agricultural
market access
SEE ALSO:
> Texts
and news: on the June/July 2006 Modalities page
MORE NEWS:
> Press
releases
> News
archives
> Pascal
Lamy’s speeches
Director-General Pascal Lamy announced the schedule to an informal
meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee, which he chairs, on 28
June. It is modelled on the approach used at previous meetings such as
the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference
and will focus on template agreements known as “modalities” for cutting
tariffs and subsidies in agriculture and opening markets for industrial
goods, the two main areas of the weekend's meeting.
These will be used to compile individual members’ commitments on
agricultural supports and tariffs on thousands of goods, a major part of
the entire package due to be completed by the end of the year.
“It is the moment of truth”, he told a press conference afterwards. “I
don’t think we can postpone the decision anymore.”
The schedule is the result of his consultations with the chairs of the
General Council and the agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA)
negotiating bodies and with members.
The timetable
The rest of Wednesday 28 June and the whole of Thursday 29 June is left
open for members to consult among themselves as many of their ministers
and other delegates arrive in Geneva.
Friday 30 June will begin with a brief small-group consultation among
some ministers and their representatives. After that, a pattern is set
that could be followed through the weekend. Another informal meeting of
the Trade Negotiations Committee, which comprises all WTO members, will
take place, still in the morning.
The afternoon will be left for various consultations, including for
delegations participating in small-group meetings to share information
and hear reactions from the coalitions they represent.
In the evening a smaller “ministerial consultative group” will meet.
This will be “along the lines of the group that met in Hong Kong, and …
largely representative of the membership”, Mr Lamy told delegates.
Although the schedule can vary, a similar pattern could be followed on
subsequent days, following a “fairly regular rhythm”, he said.
All agree that “every effort must be made to ensure a transparent
process, underpinned by constant information flow,” Mr Lamy told
delegates. The responsibility is shared, he stressed.
“I have urged all those who have participated in … consultations over
the past few days to share what has been discussed with those not
present at these meetings. Managing these negotiations is our collective
responsibility, and while we all recognize that small-group meetings are
useful in making progress, we have to avoid any notion of a privileged
class.”
Substance
The discussion will focus on a number of issues “considered key” in
agriculture and non-agricultural market access. This is designed to
provide a suitable sequence and does not mean that these issues are
priorities, Mr Lamy said
At his press conference, he compared the process to building a
cathedral. The first step is to make sure the three key pillars are tall
enough (i.e. further offers to cut agricultural tariffs, domestic
support in agriculture and industrial tariffs) so that the rest of the
construction can be added on. All parts are important but the pillars
have to be right first.
Each of the two main subjects will be handled in two rounds.
For agriculture the discussions will concentrate first on: in market
access, the formulas for cutting tariffs, the number and treatment of
sensitive and special products (which will be given flexibility to
deviate from the formulas), and the special safeguard mechanism for
developing countries; in domestic support, the overall reduction in
trade-distorting domestic support, reductions in the Amber Box (most
distorting subsides), Blue Box (less distorting subsidies) and de
minimis (minimal amounts of permitted distorting subsidies), and
disciplines on the Amber and Blue boxes and cotton.
The second round would deal with: export subsidies and other export
competition issues; in market access, putting caps or ceilings on
tariffs, the present special safeguard, tropical products, the erosion
of preferences, countries that recently joined the WTO, and
least-developed countries; and the Green Box (domestic supports that do
not distort trade or do so minimally).
Replying to comments from some countries making proposals on small and
vulnerable economies, Mr Lamy said this issue has not been listed at
this stage in agriculture because unlike for industrial products, there
are more issues to be sorted out first before members can consider
whether extra flexibility is needed for these countries, including
smaller cuts under the tariff formula for developing countries, and
other questions such as sensitive products, special products and the
special safeguard mechanism.
For non-agricultural market access (NAMA) the focus will first be on:
the formula and coefficients (numbers applied to the formula that
determine how steep the cuts will be and what the maximum final tariffs
will be); the treatment of tariffs that are not currently committed (or
“bound”) in the WTO; and flexibilities for developing countries subject
to the formula.
Next would come: duty-free and quota-free market access for exports from
least-developed countries; flexibilities for developing countries with a
low proportion of products bound in the WTO; small and vulnerable
economies; recent new members; non-reciprocal preferences; and the
implementation period.
‘Later means too late’
At the press conference afterwards, Mr Lamy was asked about the
possibility of delaying agreement on “modalities” until the end of July.
“Later puts us in the zone of ‘too late’,” Mr Lamy told reporters. This
would cause too many issues to pile up because members aim to complete
major steps in services, trade facilitation, anti-dumping and fisheries
subsidies at that time. “The state of progress of many of these issues
is promising,” he said.
In addition, the modalities now under discussion are by no means the end
of the agriculture and non-agricultural market access negotiations, he
went on. These modalities will be the tools for producing “schedules”,
lists of cuts in tariffs on thousands of products and in agricultural
subsidies for each of the WTO’s 149 members, a process that will take
months.