WTO Nairobi Ministerial-
Direct Reports
WTO Ministerial Begins – Its DDA vs TPP
Arun and Asim
Goyal from Nairobi
Ministers gathering in various bilateral
and group configurations for all day and all night negotiating sessions to
hammer out something positive.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman
called on WTO members to acknowledge that the Doha talks were “at the end of
the line,” in an op-ed in the Financial Times on 13 December. “It is time for
the world to free itself from the strictures of Doha,” he said.
While the mood in the corridors ranged from gloom to ambition
to see a possible resolution on both the WTO’s future work, as well as what
substantive outcomes might emerge as Nairobi deliverables, key officials
publicly pledged to do their utmost to achieve a successful result.
“I don’t think any of us is ready to give up today, we’re not
ready to give up tomorrow, we’re not ready to give up on the 17th, nor are we
ready to give up on the 18th,” said Amina Mohamed, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary on
Foreign Affairs and Trade and chair of the conference.
The
Nairobi trade talks follow hot on the heels of a historic multilateral
emissions-cutting agreement, clinched last week in Paris, France, with
various officials and stakeholders on the first day citing the climate
negotiations’ success at bridging strong divergences.
“2015 is a year in which we have displayed unparalleled
cooperation in agreeing on a number of collective approaches to some of the
most pressing problems facing humanity,” said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta during Tuesday’s opening plenary, referring
both to the Paris talks and the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The spirit that has followed us to come together and achieve
measures that many thought impossible should also be present at this year’s
Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference,” he continued, noting the body’s contribution
to global growth, increased international trade, orderly dispute settlement,
and integrating poorer countries into the global marketplace.
The memory of the 2013 Bali ministerial conference was
recalled by other speakers during the opening plenary, given its success in
inking the WTO’s first global trade deal in its history. WTO Director-General
Roberto Azevêdo on Tuesday echoed a quote from Nelson
Mandela that he had used on that occasion – “it always seems impossible until
it is done” – as a potential source of inspiration in the days ahead.
The
cautiously optimistic statements in plenary stood in contrast, though, with the
mood and dynamics among trade negotiators.
The US stance seemed directly at odds with the position taken
by India and numerous other developing countries, many of which have argued
that the long-running talks need to be concluded before moving on to new
issues.
A joint ministerial statement from the African Group, China,
Ecuador, India, and Venezuela issued on Tuesday called for a redoubling of
efforts to “proceed towards the full, successful, and multilateral conclusion
of the negotiations,” referring to the Doha mandate.
Although not referring specifically to the position taken by Froman, the group highlighted the various benefits they say
would come from a successful, “comprehensive” conclusion of the Round with
“economically meaningful and balanced outcomes.”
EU Commissioners Cecilia Malmström
and Phil Hogan – responsible for trade and agriculture, respectively – joined
the fray in a joint public statement, saying that they were “concerned by
the deep persisting differences” between governments on the post-Nairobi WTO
agenda. While the organisation should “keep working on” the outstanding Doha
issues, it should also start to address other issues that are important for
today’s global trade, the Commissioners argued.
Separate statements from both the least developed country
(LDC) and small, vulnerable economies (SVE) trade ministers issued going into
the conference also called for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round trade
talks. Sources indicate that African ministers of trade are expected to adopt a
similar declaration on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, experts and ministers attending side events on
Tuesday at a Trade and Development Symposium reflected over the WTO’s potential
future if faced with negotiating stasis in Nairobi, with many noting the
shifting realities of trade flows and policymaking. Questions teemed on how to
make sure new regional or plurilateral trade
agreements remain compatible with the multilateral system and how to tackle
emerging issues such as the digital economy.
The
Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries issued
a statement calling for the abolition of agricultural subsidies at
the ministerial, as well as new disciplines on other agricultural trade
policies that have export subsidy-like effects. The conference should also
address developing countries’ concerns on cotton, they said.
Another communiqué from the G-33 group of
developing countries reiterated the importance of a safeguard to raise tariffs
temporarily in the event of sudden import surges or price depressions, as well
as a “permanent solution” to difficulties the group’s members say they face in
buying food at administered prices for public stocks, under the WTO’s existing
farm subsidy rules.
However, the declaration also indicated that the group would
be “open to explore future cooperation on other areas in WTO agriculture
negotiations where group members see common interests and shared objectives.”
The G-33 includes China, India, and Indonesia, as well as numerous smaller
developing countries.
Like the Cairns Group countries, the EU commissioners’
statement also argued in favour of an outcome on all forms of export subsidies.
Outcomes
on fisheries have been slated as another potential deliverable from the Doha
mandate for MC10, which sources say has started to gain more traction among
some groups in recent days, particularly with an eye on demonstrating the WTO
can also deliver positive outcomes for a wider sustainability agenda. Mohamed,
the conference chair, published an op-ed last Saturday on the
importance of tackling the issue at the global trade body.
On LDC issues – also under negotiation in Nairobi – sources
say informal consultations on preferential Rules of Origin (RoO)
took place on Tuesday. A draft decision seen by Bridges was circulated to
delegations by Chair Steffen Smidt of Denmark
beforehand in an attempt to suggest compromise language on certain outstanding
issues. If adopted, the decision would be an addendum to the 2013 Bali
decision.
Sources say that the Danish ambassador has been consulting
with several delegations in recent days and preferred to submit a clean text
without brackets in an attempt toward reaching convergence.
The draft decision outlines a set of multilaterally agreed
guidelines to help make it easier for LDC exports to qualify for preferential
market access, detailing specific obligations for preference-granting countries
in areas such as the determination of substantial transformation, cumulation, simplification of documentary requirements and
implementation, flexibilities, and transparency.
At press time, it appeared that discussion on language
regarding the use of terms such as “aim to” versus “consider to” in one section
of the draft decision involving how to define the threshold level of value
addition to qualify for preferential treatment is proving divisive.
“Rules of origin could very well be a deliverable during this
ministerial conference. Discussions on this issue has been so far very
constructive,” said a developed country delegate, whose words were echoed by an
African official.
On
the eve of the ministerial conference, 15 countries pledged almost US$90
million for the second phase of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) – the
only global aid for trade programme with an exclusive focus on least developed
countries.
The EIF is a multi-donor programme which supports LDCs to be
more active players in the global trading system by helping them tackle
supply-side constraints to trade. The new phase of the Enhanced Integrated
Framework was launched over the summer and is expected to run from 2016 to
2022.
“We are marking a new and exciting chapter for the EIF
partnership today,” said Azevêdo, who explained that
the will to deliver outcomes for the world’s poorest nation is “real” and that
a successful pledging conference would be an important part of that effort.
During the conference, trade officials from Australia,
Denmark, Estonia, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, Luxembourg, Norway,
Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their
strong support for this Aid-for-Trade programme, while the Netherlands joined
as a new donor.
The amount of funding needed to run the programme in the next
seven years has been estimated at between US$274-320 million.
Most donors have indicated that owing to budgeting cycles they
were not in a position to commit for more than two years, while noting that
further contributions would be made available in this second EIF phase. Some
stressed that progress was needed towards more effectiveness and ownership of
the funds allocated.
Some developed country delegates suggested that the amount
pledged constituted a “very strong basis,” given the pressures many core donors
face due to humanitarian emergencies and a difficult economic context. One LDC
delegate said, however, that more was expected as US$90 million was not even
half of the funding required.
At
press time, it remained unclear whether the group of WTO members involved in
the negotiations to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) will have
a completed deal to announce this week, though sources indicated potential
signs of progress. Azevêdo told reporters on Tuesday
morning that he was confident of there being an ITA result.