Trade Ministers at Davos Press for
“Meaningful Results” in Bali
Trade Ministers Suggest Easter Stocktaking
Preparations
for the upcoming WTO ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia took centre
stage during the annual - and now traditional - informal meeting of trade
ministers that was held on Saturday on the sidelines
of the Davos gathering.
Ministers from the organisation’s membership are scheduled to
gather on the Pacific island from 3-6 December, in a meeting that is being
closely watched by the trade community as a place where movement on the stalled
Doha negotiations might occur.
The last ministerial - held in Geneva in late 2011 - was
widely viewed as a “housekeeping” style exercise, with ministers declaring the
Doha Round of trade talks at an impasse and agreeing on a few non-Doha items
relating to least developed countries. However, this upcoming meet is being
viewed as a chance to move some of the less controversial elements of the Doha
talks forward, though WTO members have been cautious to date in placing too
much pressure publicly on the Bali preparation process.
With that in mind, members have spent much of the last year
trying to whittle down brackets in the draft text of the Doha negotiations on
trade facilitation, while also reviewing proposals for possibly advancing a few
components from the agriculture and Special and Differential Treatment
(S&DT) parts of the Round. Sources have said that the trade facilitation
draft text, while still under negotiation, is making progress, with many of the
current brackets stemming from just a few areas of disagreement.
The Saturday, 26 January trade ministers’ meeting, hosted by
Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann,
brought together over 20 top officials from the organisation’s membership,
along with outgoing WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy
and current General Council Chair Elin Østebø Johansen of Norway, with the purpose of discussing
next steps in the Bali preparation process.
In his concluding remarks following the meeting,
Schneider-Amman noted that ministers agreed that the core of any Bali outcome
should indeed include trade facilitation, some agriculture components, and
items of special interest to developing and least developed country (LDC) members.
Given the importance of time management in preparing for
Bali, ministers also agreed on the need for “clarity on the scope of the
possible deal as soon as possible,” the Swiss economy minister said. To that
end, they suggested that WTO members evaluate at Easter where things stand and
whether a “meaningful result” in Bali will be achievable, he added.
Meanwhile,
the prospect of Brussels and Washington launching trade talks this year also
featured prominently during the Davos summit, with EU national leaders
reiterating their push for the negotiations.
Highlighting the EU’s various bilateral trade efforts -
including negotiations with Canada, which are said to be in their final stages,
the recent conclusion of talks with Singapore, and the planned launch of
discussions with Japan - Cameron particularly stressed the value that a deal
with the US could add to the fragile EU economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also reiterated her own
support of an EU-US pact during last week’s gathering.
Notably, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk - who is set to
leave his role as the US’ top trade official next month - told the New York
Times in an interview that his country is indeed interested in such
negotiations, and said that his departure should not have any effect on the
launch of the talks. However, he explained, such a deal must be able to pass in
the US Congress and address possible concerns from domestic farm groups.
The delay in an expected report from a joint EU-US working
group - which is meant to include recommendations on whether to begin trade
talks - has sparked questions over whether Washington is getting cold feet over
the potential pact. However, EU Trade Commissioner Karel
De Gucht told Reuters on Friday, the report is
essentially ready, minus a few outstanding issues.