WTO: 2007 PRESS RELEASES

Press/486

  
SEE ALSO:
> Press releases
> WTO news archives
> Pascal Lamy’s speeches

“Ambassadors Falconer and Stephenson have held countless consultations across the WTO membership in recent months seeking the compromises that will unlock agreements in agriculture and industrial goods trade. The papers reflect the progress that has been achieved so far. The chairmen are to be commended. Finding such compromise is always difficult and no delegation will get all it wants. But these texts are representative of members’ views and constitute a fair and reasonable basis for reaching ambitious, balanced and development-oriented agreements. These are negotiating instruments which will be revised and adjusted as governments continue to narrow their differences,” Mr Lamy said.

“Members will not be fully satisfied with the texts. But what separates members today is smaller than what unites them. There is already an impressive package on the table. In the weeks to come it is essential that members focus efforts into overcoming those differences and reach agreement in the two sectors that hold the key to success in the Doha round,” Mr. Lamy added.

The texts, which were distributed today, will be taken up by the 150 WTO member governments in negotiating sessions next week. The Doha round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001, involves numerous other negotiations including trade in services, trade and environment, anti-dumping, fishery subsidies, specific development issues, trade related intellectual property and trade facilitation.

In the years since the round was launched, member governments have, among other things, already agreed to eliminate all forms of export subsidies in agriculture, to remove barriers to trade on 97% of least developed country exports, to reduce the highest agriculture and manufacturing tariffs by the widest margins and to reduce red tape and bureaucratic delay in customs procedures. Among the differences that remain to be resolved in the agriculture and NAMA negotiations are the precise magnitude of tariff cuts, reductions in trade distorting domestic farm subsidies and the degree of flexibility to be extended to developing countries in opening their markets to greater competition from imports.

> Agriculture text
> NAMA text
> News item: Farm and non-farm talks’ chairs circulate revised blueprints of final deal

> Problems viewing this page?
Please contact [email protected] giving details of the operating system and web browser you are using.