LAMY UNVEILS AID FOR TRADE TASK FORCE, CALLS FOR TEXT-BASED NEGOTIATIONS

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy called on Members on 8 February to proceed "in concert" and come forward with new negotiating positions on all issues in the ongoing Doha Round talks, in order to break the current deadlock and achieve the objectives they set for themselves at the December Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. In his speech to the General Council, he said that delegations would have to focus on text and numbers if they are to have a chance of narrowing their differences. Lamy also revealed -- and then quickly revised -- the composition of the 'Task Force' that will be charged with operationalising the provisions on aid for trade set out in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.

At the meeting, Members formally agreed to a slate of new chairs for both the regular WTO committees and the various Doha Round negotiating bodies (see related story, this issue).

Members discuss Davos timeline, process

Both in the 8 February General Council and the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting that took place the day before, delegations discussed the timetable for the negotiations in 2006 that emerged from a late-January gathering of ministers from 25-odd WTO Member countries in Davos, Switzerland (see BRIDGES Weekly, 1 February 2006).

Lamy emphasised that the timeline was not an official document, but simply a "useful working tool" -- an indication of the work that needs to be done in order to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year. Some Members said the timeline was helpful, but questioned whether it would actually encourage Members to go further -- the history of WTO negotiations is littered with missed deadlines.

Cuba and Venezuela expressed discomfort with the Davos timetable, and circulated a paper about 'irregularities' during the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, calling for greater transparency and inclusiveness in the negotiating process. No other Member expressed similar concerns, and Lamy insisted that there was "widespread satisfaction" with the "bottom-up" process that had been followed both before and at the Ministerial Conference. To the TNC, he stressed "the essential outreach role played by the different groupings" -- representatives of the various Member groupings have been playing a central role in communicating the proceedings of 'Green Room' and other small-group meetings to the Membership at large.

Agriculture negotiations Chair Ambassador Crawford Falconer (New Zealand) urged Members to talk to each other, saying that progress was needed on all three pillars of the farm trade talks: export competition, domestic support, and market access. He reminded them that only three meetings of the committee remain before the end of April, which is the deadline set by the Hong Kong Declaration for Members to reach a comprehensive agreement on 'full modalities' -- structures and numbers for subsidy and tariff cuts, as well as exceptions -- for the agriculture and non-agriculture market access (NAMA) negotiations.

On behalf of the group of least-developed countries (LDCs), Zambia said that this work prior to 30 April should include a review of the criteria for the permitted farm subsidies that fall into the 'green box,' as well as the development of disciplines for the 'blue box' and rules to prevent Members from re-classifying grants from one box to another to avoid having to make real reductions. It also called for exporting state trading enterprises from LDCs to be exempt from any eventual disciplines. The LDC group asked for greater clarity on the composition of the 3 percent of tariff lines that Members have the right to exclude from duty- and tariff-free market access as per the Hong Kong Declaration, as well as negotiations for a gradual phaseout of this exception.

Lamy announces aid for trade Task Force

The Task Force on aid for trade will comprise Barbados, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, the European Union, Japan, India, Thailand, the United States and the coordinators of the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) Group, the African Group and the LDC Group. It will be chaired by Swedish Ambassador Mia Horn af Rantzien in her personal capacity. The Hong Kong Declaration mandates the group to "provide recommendations to the General Council by July 2006 on how aid for trade might contribute most effectively to the development dimension of the Doha Development Agenda."

Colombia and Thailand were not on the list when Lamy first unveiled it in the General Council. He announced their inclusion towards the end of the meeting, after several Members complained that mid-sized developing countries had not been adequately represented in the Task Force. Sources suggest that the composition of the group appears to still be the subject of debate, and it is not certain that no other Members will be added to it.

Each country on the Task Force will be represented by its ambassdor and one additional official -- Lamy encouraged them to send senior capital-based officials with expertise on development and finance issues. International organisations, possibly including regional groups, will be invited to regularly advise the Task Force.

Lamy informed Members that consultations on implementation issues would resume next week, and that he would report on them at the next TNC meeting, for which no date has been set.

The weeks before the December Ministerial Conference saw a series of 'green room' meetings, with the TNC and the General Council placed continuously 'on hold' so that they could be convened any time. It is not yet clear if and how the intensity of negotiations will be accelerated between now and the 30 April deadline, which both delegates and Lamy insist is not beyond reach.

ICTSD reporting.