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14 March 2000
WTO FOCUSES ON DEVELOPMENT, S&D TREATMENT
On 7 March the WTO held a seminar on "Special and Differential
Treatment (S&DT) for Developing Countries." The seminar was organised
under the auspices of the WTO Committee on Trade and Development (CTD),
and covered the various WTO provisions which come under this heading in
terms of: their limitations, technical assistance needs, implementation
under key WTO agreements, impacts on economic reform programmes, and
the case for the development of economic indicators for the application
of S&DT.
The seminar produced a frank exchange of views that included calls from
developing countries to rectify inequalities between developed and
developing countries in future negotiations. Specifically, developing
country Members focused on the need to reduce export subsidies, address
implementation problems and increase technical assistance.
Noting that most developing countries consider adjustment periods and
technical co-operation insufficient for overcoming structural
limitations in their production and trade, Venezuela's Ambassador to
the WTO Werner Corrales suggested that S&DT provisions should be
complemented by the creation -- and / or preservation -- of 'spaces'
for policies. According to Amb. Corrales, market-oriented policies
could be used within these spaces to help developing countries promote
competitiveness and dynamism of exporting sectors. Pakistan's
Ambassador to the WTO Munir Akram, who was a panellist in the seminar's
final session on the "Future of Special and Differential Treatment,"
suggested that non-binding trade commitments and "best endeavours" in
S&DT be made legally binding. He further urged that a mechanism be
established under the CTD or General Council to monitor the further
elaboration or implementation of such changes.
Ambassador Abbott of the European Commission was the only panellist
from a developed country. He spoke of the EC's commitment to both
increase market access for least developed countries -- warning that
this may imply increased competition -- and to intensify technical
assistance and capacity building.
Following up on the seminar, Chair of the CTD Amb. Ransford Smith
(Jamaica) presented a note on the seminar to a meeting of the CTD on 10
March. A number of countries, including Kenya, Mauritius and Chile,
said that there had not been enough time for discussion during the
seminar.
Following the Chair's presentation, CTD delegates discussed a note by
the WTO Secretariat on "Participation Of Developing Countries In World
Trade: Recent Developments, And Trade Of The Least-Developed Countries
(LDCs)". Responding to the report, the US said that the note shows that
those countries most integrated into the world economy via regional and
multilateral forums had experienced increasing levels of market access.
Building capacity to trade was very important, the US delegate stated,
who continued saying it would be interesting to see how developing
countries could "leapfrog" their economies through such technological
means as e-commerce.
India pointed out that while developing countries' share of trade in
merchandise goods had increased from 20 percent in 1973 to 28 percent
in 2000, it was still a long way off from a high of 33 percent in 1948.
India indicated three reasons for this "disappointing" figure: first,
that technology and knowledge has bypassed developing countries and the
gap is widening; second, that those markets where developing countries
are competitive (e.g. textiles and agriculture) remain very closed; and
third, that developing countries themselves have not done enough in
terms of adjusting their national policies to take advantage of global
markets.
In response to the Secretariat note, the European Communities (EC)
focused on the needs of the LDCs, pointing out that LDCs are at a
disadvantage in the global economy, but that despite this there seemed
to be a positive trend in their ability to integrate and gain from
trade.
ICTSD Internal Files.
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