SURPRISE MOVE BY AFRICAN, LDC GROUPS AT INFORMAL CTD MEETING

The second informal meeting in a series of five of the WTO Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) took place on 24 January. Delegates continued discussions on the 22 agreement-specific proposals on special and differential treatment (S&D), aiming to make the concept 'more precise, effective and operational' (see BRIDGES Weekly, 22 January 2003). The African and LDC Groups -- headed by Kenya and Bangladesh respectively -- surprised many Members and the Chair by indicating that they would submit new language on these proposals and a few others within a week's time.

Members of the Quad (Canada, the EC, Japan and the US) appeared concerned with this decision. The US asked if it implied restarting work from square one. The EC stated that the new language would imply a 'serious risk'. Japan's delegate warned that he could not guarantee that his country's response to new proposals would be different from previous responses. When contacted, an African trade delegate dismissed these apprehensions, saying that the attempt was only to come up with language that would help the Chair take the process forward and enable Members to reach agreement quickly. "It would still be the same proposals," the source added.

Two more CTD informal meetings will take place on this issue, with a final meeting to be held on 3 February.

ICTSD reporting.

CONSULTATIONS ON CONFLICT DIAMOND WAIVER ONGOING AT WTO

The Council for Trade in Goods met on 23 January to discuss a Canadian proposal co-sponsored by Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United Stat for a WTO waiver relating to the Kimberley Process establishing a certification process preventing trade in conflict diamonds. This agenda item was however suspended, following a request by Canada, as informal consultations to refine the language of the waiver are being conducted. The proposal was first put forward on 22 November 2002 by Canada (See BRIDGES Weekly, 28 November 2002). The informal negotiations are related to the fact that some countries do not see the need for a waiver, as they consider GATT Article XXI (Security Exemptions) to cover issues such as the Kimberly Process. Progress was reported in the informal negotiations, with Chair Suppermaniam (Malaysia) hoping to reconvene an informal meeting of the Goods Council within the next few weeks. A formal session would follow on the informal one, to adopt the waiver.

ICTSD Reporting.

WTO PANEL ESTABLISHED ON EU GPS SCHEME

On 27 January the WTO agreed to set up a dispute settlement panel to determine whether provisions under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) tariff programme relating to labour rights, the protection of the environment and combating the production and trafficking of illicit drugs is compatible with WTO rules. The panel was approved following the second request by India, which made a first request on 19 December (See BRIDGES Weekly, 15 January 2003). A second request can only be rejected if all countries in attendance block the establishment of the panel. A number of Latin American countries affected by the EU scheme requested third-party rights in the panel proceedings. The US, which also has a drug eradication incentive scheme, requested third- party rights as well. The EU warned that the Indian challenge could end up hurting countries in great need of the assistance the GPS scheme provides, and the scheme "also aims at responding to the developmental, financial and trade needs of the developing countries." India decided to bring the complaint to the WTO after Pakistan was included in the scheme in 2001, which gave Pakistan benefits with regard to its textiles and clothing exports to the EU that India does not have.

"India wins WTO probe into EU tariff scheme," REUTERS, 27 January 2003; “WTO Panel to Rule on Indian Complaint On EU's GSP for Labour, Drugs, Environment,” WTO REPORTER, 29 January 2003.

NEW CANADIAN PROPOSAL ON REVIEW OF WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

On January 23, Canada presented a new proposal (TN/DS/W/41, searchable online at http://docsonline.wto.org) in the on-going negotiations for the review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU). The proposal seeks both to enhance the confidentiality of business information provided in WTO disputes and to open hearings to the public. With regard to business confidential information (BCI) the proposal recommends permitting parties to designate sensitive information that is not in the public domain as confidential, "provided that they act in good faith and exercise restraint." It further recommends that such designations could be challenged by another party if it considers the designation to be unreasonable, and further that, "if the party fails to provide an adequate justification, in accordance with the established criteria, the panel will be permitted to decline to consider the information unless the party agrees to remove the designation."

With regard to transparency, the Canadian proposal suggests that WTO parties agree to "open all panel and WTO Appellate Body hearings to the public, except for the portions of hearings where confidential information is discussed." To overcome potential resource limitations, public access could be provided by transmitting a live telecast of hearings to a public viewing location. According to the proposal, written submissions by parties and third parties to dispute panels and the Appellate Body should generally be made available -- through a dispute settlement registry -- at the time of filing. Parties providing confidential information would be required to provide, as soon as reasonably possible, edited versions of their written submissions to be made available to the public. The negotiations on the DSU draw from the Doha mandate to clarify and improve the DSU. They have been going on since 1997, and are set to be completed by May 2003. The US and Chile submitted their proposal on the DSU in mid-December 2002 (see BRIDGES Weekly, 20 December 2002).

ICSTD Reporting.

LDC SUB-COMMITTEE: ZAMBIA SUBMITS PROPOSAL ON ENHANCING THE ROLE OF TRADE IN DEVELOPMENT

The Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) met on 24 January 2003 to consider accession of LDCs, technical assistance, and mainstreaming -- as appropriate -- of trade-related elements from the Third UN Conference on LDCs (LDC-III) Programme of Action into the WTO's work. On accession, Members welcomed a 10 December decision on the accession of least-developed countries (WT/L/508, searchable online at http://docsonline.wto.org), which lays out guidelines relating to market access, WTO rules, technical assistance, and capacity building linked to the accessions of LDCs. To monitor the implementation of the guidelines, the sub-committee agreed to keep accession of LDCs as a standing item on its agenda, and to invite chairs of LDC accession working parties to the sub-committee to exchange views on the state-of- play.

On technical assistance, Ambassador Iversen (Denmark) provided a status report on the Integrated Framework (IF). The IF for trade-related technical assistance to LDCs is an initiative of the World Bank, UNCTAD, the IMF, the WTO, the UNDP and the International Trade Commission, seeking to integrate trade priorities into LDCs’ national development plans and poverty reduction strategies. Ambassador Iversen reported on a meeting of the IF Steering Committee that had been held on 17 January. In response, members stressed the importance of completing an IF evaluation before the fifth Ministerial meeting to be held in Cancun in September. On mainstreaming the Programme of Action adopted at the 2001 LDC-III Conference into the WTO's work, Zambia presented a paper (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/29, searchable online at http://docsonline.wto.org) on behalf of all LDCs. According to the paper, the final objective of this exercise should be to transform the trade related elements of the Programme of Action into an integral and permanent part of the WTO rules and disciplines as binding contractual obligations subject to the WTO Dispute Settlement procedures. This, according to the Zambian submission, would be the only way that the LDC- III commitment to enhance the role of trade in development could be translated into concrete and tangible actions to benefit LDCs. Members agreed that the Chair would consult further on the proposal from Zambia. The next session of the Sub-Committee will be held on 28 April 2003.

ICTSD Reporting.