Caribbean Trade Officials to Participate in WTO General Council Meeting

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – A Caribbean delegation of trade experts led by the Honourable Minister of Trade in the Republic of Guyana, Clement Rohee, has left the region for Geneva this week to participate in what is shaping up to look like one of the most crucial turning points to date in the WTO talks.
Subsequent to the release on July 16 of a WTO draft framework agreement setting out the terms for the Doha round, critical issues still remain unresolved as Members have failed to substantially narrow the differences in positions on a number of these issues. According to General Council Chairman Shotaro Oshima, July 30 is the “drop-dead” deadline for striking an acceptable balance and agreeing on the overall framework agreement.
CARICOM countries, however, remains committed to positive results at the conclusion of the General Council meeting which began on July 27. CRNM Director General, Dr. Richard Bernal, has identified the issue of special treatment for some developing countries as one of the primary areas of interest for CARICOM countries, particularly in respect of the smallest and most vulnerable Caribbean countries. He notes the issue to be pivoted on some of the language in the development section of the draft framework which, if agreed to, would pave the way for special treatment to vulnerable developing countries, developing countries that are dependent to a significant degree on tariff preferences or commodity exports, or those that are net food importing developing countries.
A number of larger developing countries have criticized the language as facilitating the creation of a “sub-category” of developing countries. The specific text, paragraph 2 in the development section of the overall draft framework, states that the specific concerns of preference-dependent, commodity-dependent and net food importing developing countries shall be appropriately addressed in the context of multilateral liberalization commitments undertaken in the Doha round. It also states that the “concerns of small, vulnerable developing economies shall be taken into account, without creating a sub-category of members.”
The Director General notes that the outcome must be that small vulnerable countries such as CARICOM States are in a better position as a result of these negotiations and are able to derive benefit from any resulting agreement(s).
While the majority of developed countries have not voiced a position in respect of this issue, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has publicly “endorsed” the idea or principle behind the relevant language by agreeing that less advanced countries should not have to reduce their tariffs.
Agricultural export subsidies and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) also remain contentious issues despite several efforts on the part of developed and developing countries to reach a compromise solution prior to this meeting of the General Council.
There appears to be an emerging consensus with regard to the treatment of the so-called Singapore Issues. Members are moving toward agreement to negotiate Trade Facilitation while dropping the remaining issues, Investment, Competition and Transparency in Government Procurement, from the Doha agenda. New proposals on trade facilitation were put forward at a July 21 informal meeting of a core group of countries. This group has proposed that negotiations lead to effective co-operation between customs administrations “in cases involving reasonable suspicion of violations of law governing export and imports” and makes request for financial assistance and support for infrastructure development to facilitate implementation by developing and least-developed countries. A significant issue requiring further discussion and clarification, however, is whether developing countries will be subject to dispute settlement rules under a trade facilitation agreement. Of note is that the framework supports dropping Investment, Competition and Transparency in Government Procurement from the Doha agenda, ostensibly leaving the way clear to re-visit these issues outside of the Doha round.
Minister Rohee is supported by a technical team from the CRNM led by Dr. Anthony Gonzales, RNM Director of WTO Affairs. The RNM team will work in close collaboration with the CARICOM Ambassadors accredited to the WTO.