WTO: 2006 NEWS ITEMS
WTO NEWS — DDA JUNE/JULY 2006 MODALITIES: SUMMARY 30 JUNE
Lamy: Ministers here, but will there be negotiations?
Lack of progress in discussions immediately before the weekend’s deliberations on template agreements — known as modalities — is “sobering”, Director-General Pascal Lamy told an informal meeting of the full membership on 30 June 2006. A number of countries shared his concern that continuing deadlock could wreck the chances of concluding a deal that would boost global economic growth, correct imbalances and promote development.
> Director-General’s
statement to 30 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
Opening an informal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee, which
he chairs, Mr Lamy said discussions with ministers and other delegates
over the past few days show that “some numbers remaining on the table at
this stage do not create a landing zone. … To reach agreement, we need
to close numbers.”
Members are trying to reach agreement on “modalities” in agriculture and
industrial products. These will include formulas for cutting tariffs in
both and subsidies in agriculture, along with other details such as
flexibilities for political and developmental purposes, along with other
disciplines.
The “modalities” are needed so that countries can list their new
commitments to reduce tariffs on thousands of products and to cut farm
subsidies. The lists will be in documents known as “schedules” that will
run to several hundred pages per country and to tens of thousands of
pages for the whole membership.
“What we need from these hours is to move the negotiations to the next
phase, i.e., the phase where schedules can be drafted,” Mr Lamy said.
“In order to do this, you need full modalities — which means parameters
which cover the subjects identified by the chairs of the agriculture and
NAMA (non-agricultural market access) negotiating groups.
“This means real negotiations. This is why ministers have come here.
Yet, I regret to say that, at this hour, it is not clear that real
negotiation will take place.”
His message was blunt. “The question before all of you today is how you
are going to reconcile the commitment you have all made to finishing the
round this year, with your apparent inability to negotiate in any real
sense. This is a question which cannot any longer be avoided.”
The potential cost
Failure in the negotiations would mean losing work that already has the
potential to produce reforms that are “deeper, larger and fairer” than
the previous multilateral trade negotiation, the 1986-94 Uruguay Round,
Mr Lamy said.
In addition to the more ambitious cuts in tariffs and support, and the
elimination of export subsidies, also at risk are duty-free, quota-free
import regimes for least-developed countries’ exports, an aid-for-trade
package, improved rules on subsidies in general, a trade deal on cotton,
and disciplines providing developing countries with additional
flexibility to address their needs.
“At this moment, all of this may be at risk,” he said. But above all is
the possible damage to the multilateral trading system, which will
mostly harm developing countries, he warned.
Several members echoed Mr Lamy’s assessment, both about the lack of
progress and the dangers that failure might bring to the world economy
and to weaker countries. Some developing countries said it is up to the
major powers to move first.
The debate
Part of the debate reflected continuing differences about how much
countries are able to do, whether current proposals are too weak to
provide meaningful increases in trade, or too strong to protect weak and
vulnerable sectors. Countries emphasized either the need for more
ambition or for a higher level of flexibility.
Some countries expressed their concerns about products of particular
interest to them such as textiles and bananas. Supporters of the cotton
initiative urged members to act before African cotton producers
disappear as a result of prices depressed by subsidies. They called for
an early meeting of the World Bank and other donors for the development
side of the cotton package.
A few countries asked for more transparency when smaller groups of
ministers meet.
One country said it sees no basis for returning to Geneva in a few weeks
if delegations are unable to agree this weekend.
The schedule and process
Mr Lamy repeated the schedule that he outlined at the
previous informal meeting. At 9
a.m., two hours before today’s (30 June) informal meeting of the Trade
Negotiations Committee, he had started discussions in a “ministerial
consultative group”, a gathering of about 30 ministers representing all
the coalitions among the membership, sometimes known unofficially as
“the Green Room”.
The focus was mainly on making a start, and getting a clearer indication
of possible movements in the positions of key players following
discussions among ministers and other delegations in recent days, he
said.
Late in the afternoon of 30 June, the ministerial consultative group
will meet again to move on to a more substantive and structured
discussion, Mr Lamy said. A similar pattern could be followed in coming
days.
WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell was asked at a press conference whether
members had criticized the process, which involves smaller-group “Green
Room” meetings and private consultations among a much smaller group of
up to six key members (some or all among Australia, Brazil, the EU,
India, Japan and the US) .
He said there has been less criticism of the Green Rooms since the
process was reformed a few years ago to ensure participants better
represent the full membership and to improve the flow of information
between participants and members who are outside. However, a perfect
process is difficult to achieve, he said.
However, a number of members are saying that it is up to the six to lead
the way by moving first. Without some agreement among the six, other
countries say it is difficult for them to move, Mr Rockwell reported,
although even then, more work is needed before consensus can be reached
among the full membership.
Audio from the press conference following the 30 June TNC meeting
Audio
> listen
(30 mins, 18MB)
> help
> More
podcasts