WTO NEWS: SPEECHES — DG ROBERTO AZEVÊDO


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> Roberto Azevêdo’s speeches

  

Good morning everyone. Welcome to Geneva and to the WTO — I know for many of you it's not your first time here.

I hope this week will provide you with a useful update on all aspects of our work since we last met in July. And I hope it will help you, and your delegations, to prepare for our Ministerial Conference in Nairobi.

As you know, the Ministerial Conference is now just a couple of weeks away.

I will give you an overview of the situation in terms of our preparations for Nairobi but I don’t plan to speak for too long. I think that, at this juncture, it is important to have a discussion, looking at what can be achieved in Nairobi — and looking at what that means for our work moving into 2016 and beyond.

This is the first time that the WTO has held a Ministerial Conference in Africa — and therefore expectations are high that it should deliver for Africa — and for all developing countries, particularly the least-developed. I think this view is shared across the membership.

This work is happening mainly through two processes.

The first process is that of the negotiating groups. Members are working through these groups on a range of specific issues. However, despite intensive efforts on all of the core DDA issues, I must report that little progress has been made. Gaps between members' positions remain huge.

This means we haven't been able to advance in  many of the major DDA issues such as agricultural domestic support, for example, or any aspect of market access — whether agricultural, non-agricultural, or services.

Nevertheless, a general sense has emerged that consensus might be achievable on some issues — if, and only if, we work very hard on all of them. There are no easy pickings.

This includes a package of measures for LDCs, which could contain a number of possible elements, such as further steps on DFQF, services, cotton and rules of origin.

Another issue which we may be able to harvest is a possible agreement on export competition in agriculture, which may include steps on export subsidies, export credits, the role of state trading enterprises and food aid, for example.  

Any achievements here would be especially important for developing and least-developed countries. This is an opportunity to get results that developing countries have been trying to secure for so long.

We are also working on issues such as SSMs and public stockholding for food security purposes, though progress is lacking here as well. 

Indeed, at present, nothing is guaranteed. There is still a long way to go, significant gaps still to bridge, and little time remaining. So if you want to see outcomes on these issues then please make your voices heard.

So, that's the first process. The second is focused on drafting a Ministerial Declaration — and I believe you attended the Room W meeting on Tuesday which dealt with exactly this point. There has been intensive work going on here as well. 

In October I appointed three ambassadors to facilitate this work: Gabriel Duque of Colombia, Harald Neple of Norway and Stephen Karau of Kenya. The initial idea was that they would consult with all members on the content and format of the Ministerial Declaration.

In their first report back to the membership they highlighted some commonalities between delegations. They noted that all members expressed their commitment to a successful Nairobi Ministerial Conference. Also, all delegations expressed preference for a consensual Ministerial Declaration as the desired outcome for Nairobi.

In this regard, a majority of delegations made reference to a "Bali-like" Ministerial Declaration in three parts:

  • The first part would have the introductory language, focusing on the importance of the multilateral trading system in the context of the WTO’s 20th anniversary.
  • The second part would cover the Nairobi deliverables, which — as I have explained — are being tackled in the negotiating groups. 
  • The third part would look to the future work of the WTO after Nairobi.

 

The Facilitators then held a series of focused discussions on each of these three elements. Members have been actively engaged, submitting numerous textual proposals.

There has been some progress. But in order to move towards a consolidated text members have agreed that the Facilitators should bring forward a zero draft covering the not-too-contentious areas.

Clearly, however, we will need to take a different approach for the most contentious issues. In areas such as reaffirming the DDA and openness to new issues, the Facilitators will not even attempt to draft language. This is a task for all members.

The Facilitators will present their text on Friday this week. We will then reconvene on Wednesday next week to discuss it in detail.

And, of course, there will still be ample opportunity to discuss and amend the language, as members see fit.

This process on the declaration shows the importance of Nairobi — but it also underlines the fact that our work will not end there.

The conversation about the future of the DDA is surely just as important as any deliverables that we will achieve in Nairobi.

The DDA has seen slow progress since its launch in 2001 — and when negotiations are slow in the WTO, countries will explore other avenues such as regional trade agreements.

These initiatives are positive, but the WTO must advance as well.

The risk of doing everything in regional forums is that most of the time developing countries and LDCs will be left out of the conversation.

It is only at the multilateral level where all voices are heard, and where the biggest development issues can be properly addressed.

This brings the spotlight back to the WTO, and to our capacity to negotiate.

So how do we take forward the outstanding Doha issues after Nairobi? Opinions are quite divergent on this point.

Some members argue that we must keep working on Doha because it is vital for development — and that while Doha is not concluded we must not divert our focus to discuss anything else.

Others argue that after years of limited success under the Doha architecture, it is unlikely that this framework could yield any further progress, especially on the more difficult issues.

Therefore, these countries are reluctant to continue engaging in negotiations under this current framework.

These members also believe that for the Organization to function properly, it has to evolve and address whatever new issues members want to talk about. For these members, it is critical that the WTO addresses new concerns; otherwise it risks losing its relevance.

Obviously, it is difficult to reconcile these views.

Nevertheless, I think we cannot disregard important commonalities when thinking the way ahead. 

For instance, I think all members agree that:

  • We want to deliver in Nairobi.
  • Whatever we deliver will not be enough to formally and consensually conclude the Doha Round.
  • And members are willing to keep the big Doha issues on the table, agriculture being the most pre-eminent of these.

This discussion on how we move forward will be vitally important for the future of the WTO. And the next few days will be critical in this conversation.

So there is a lot at stake, in terms of the potential deliverables — and in terms of what success, or failure, would mean for the future of the multilateral trading system.

Nairobi will be a very important moment in many ways. And I should say that there could be a number of other positive outcomes there.

Ministers will be asked to approve the membership of Liberia and Afghanistan, for example — which will deliver a big boost for growth and development in those two countries.

It is also possible that the deal to expand the Information Technology Agreement will be finalized, which will deliver more economic growth around the world.

And we may see some further progress on the Environmental Goods Agreement.

In addition, we hope to see a strong vote of support for the EIF at their pledging conference which will be held on the eve of the ministerial. Indeed, the EIF provides essential support for LDCs, and so this will be another important outcome from the Ministerial Conference.  

As you can see, we have a lot on the table — but a lot of work is still required to achieve successful outcomes in Nairobi.

For that reason, I'm sure you will appreciate that time is extremely short. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure I saw you today — and that we have time for a quick exchange of views.

So, thank you for listening. I would be pleased to hear any comments or questions.

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