DSU REVIEW NEGOTIATIONS PROCEED, SLOWLY

In meetings of the special session of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 17 and 18 of February, Members carried on with the negotiations on the review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), progressing on an article-by article basis. As in the two previous meetings of the DSB special session, the work was based on the Compilation of Draft Text Proposals (JOB (03)/10) prepared by the Secretariat (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 February 2003). Members are currently reviewing the DSU, with a 31 May 2003 deadline (Doha Declaration paragraph 30).

Ahead of the meeting, the EU signalled its willingness to support an 'early harvest' of some of the less contentious issues in the slow negotiations. Speaking at the recently concluded mini-ministerial meeting in Tokyo, the European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy was quoted as saying that "the EU would be willing to agree to a small package of changes to the Dispute Settlement Understanding in time for the May deadline to conclude negotiations if there were procedures in place for reaching a broader deal later". The idea of achieving some minimal success by the May deadline has been on the lips of several delegations since last year, particularly in view of the divisive nature of some of the issues on the table and the close deadline, hence the EU's signal should be seen in this light.

ICTSD Reporting; "Lamy Proposes Small DSU Package by May as WTO Negotiations Lag", INSIDE US TRADE, 21 February 2003.

NGO REGISTRATION FOR CANCUN MINISTERIAL NOW OPEN

On 24 February, the procedures for the registration of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to attend the fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, from 10 to 14 September 2003 were posted to the WTO website. As previously referenced in BRIDGES Weekly, 12 February 2003, requests for registration should be sent by 30 April, and registration forms will be sent by 31 May to all NGOs that fulfil the registration criteria.

The procedures can be found at the WTO website by going to the following link: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min03_e/ngo_acc_e.htm.

TRADE AND COMPETITION GROUP CONSIDERS MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORK

During a 20-21 February meeting of the WTO Working Group on Interaction between Trade and Competition Policy, Members considered a new study on issues relating to a possible multilateral framework on competition policy. The study, produced by the World Trade Institute, provides an overview of current literature on competition policy, case studies, and summaries of proposals tabled so far in the Working Group, and is expected to serve as the basis for future discussions. During the meeting, Korea submitted a paper on "Hardcore Cartels and Voluntary Cooperation: Conceptual and Practical Enforcement Issues". Korea stressed the need to deal with hardcore cartels in a multilateral manner, and suggested the establishment of a WTO Competition Policy Committee serving as a forum for information exchange. Members discussed, without agreeing, on the role of competition policy in the WTO, with the EU noting agreement only as regards hard-core cartels. Canada underscored concerns with a competition framework under WTO dispute settlement, and expressed preference for peer review and non-binding procedures. Also at the meeting, Hong Kong (China) presented a paper outlining developing country concerns related to the work of the group, and the EU submitted a report on its technical assistance programmes and projects on competition policy. The next meeting is scheduled for 26-27 May this year.

ICTSD Reporting.