Bracing for Cancun
The deliberations of trade representatives from 30 countries during an informal WTO mini-ministerial meeting were amicable -- at least in public. Niveen Wahish reports from Sharm El-Sheikh
The shirts worn by trade ministers to the informal World Trade Organisation (WTO) mini-ministerial conference in Sharm El- Sheikh came in all styles and colours. The delegates, encouraged to dress casually by the organisers, wore chequered, striped and plain shirts and some even wore T-shirts under their jackets. The third of its kind in the run up to Cancun, Mexico, where the next WTO ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held in September, this weekend's meeting's goal is to look at progress on the issues put forward by the 2001 Doha Declaration. Meeting participants aim to reach concrete decisions and conclude the round by the end of 2004. Previous mini-ministerial meetings were held in Sydney late last year and Tokyo earlier this year.
Organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade, the conference took place behind closed doors and maintained an informal air -- no minutes were taken and no single positions were stated. Egyptian Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali told the delegates their objective was to elucidate the positions that can be adopted, stressing that no decisions will be coming out of the meeting. WTO decisions have to be taken unanimously and only 30 of 145 WTO members were present at the meeting. What was expected of the meeting, said Boutros Ghali, is a better understanding of diverse positions, which will lead to a better chance of reaching an agreement.
The casual ambiance, nevertheless, did little to keep delegates from criticising one another. The conference got off to a rough start with the talks on agriculture reportedly coming short of name calling. These differences, however, were never taken to the public and the conference maintained a diplomatic façade.
Among the main issues on the table was the liberalisation of the agricultural sector. As US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick put it: "Agriculture is at the heart and soul of the Doha development agenda." But talks on agriculture have always proven thorny. Although WTO member governments had committed themselves to negotiating substantial reduction of market access obstacles, reduction of all forms of exports subsidies, as well as domestic support that distorts trade, they differ on the technicalities and the extent to which this needs to be done. While some favour aggressive liberalisation of this sector, such as the US, Canada, Australia and Egypt, others, such as the EU, Korea and Japan, are more reserved.
The EU has largely been blamed for the stalemate on agriculture. "It has become clear that whether we move ahead or get stuck very much depends on the EU," Zoellick said. "As member states consider reforms in EU agricultural policy, we hope they understand how vital reform of agricultural markets is for developing countries and, therefore, that agriculture itself is central to progress in the Doha talks."
Just before the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, talks had broken off between EU farm ministers over proposals to cut down EU spending on domestic support for farmers.
In the meantime, the chairman of the WTO agricultural negotiations is to continue working on a text that would serve as a methodology framework for agricultural negotiations. That text is scheduled to be ready by mid-July, before another possible mini-ministerial meeting is held in Montreal, Canada.
With very little time left before the ministerial meeting in Cancun, moving forward with the talks is vital. "We have to stop talking and start acting," said Supachai Panichpakdi, WTO director general.
Once delegates at Sharm El-Sheikh put agriculture aside, they seemed to be making progress on other issues. One of those issues was the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health. The Doha declaration on TRIPS and public health allows all countries signatories to the TRIPS agreement to use compulsory licensing, override patents and produce needed drugs locally to address major public health crises. How developing countries that do not have the capacity to produce their own medicines locally can procure their needs has not been settled yet. The US has reservations on that particular issue, because of pressure by US pharmaceutical companies.
Zoellick gave participants in Sharm El-Sheikh a progress report on his talks with pharmaceutical companies. These companies fear that the system may be abused or that drugs produced for a certain country are transferred to other countries. Overall, he said the companies would like to see this issue resolved before Cancun.
The public health issue was also contentious, because diseases covered under the declaration were limited. According to a senior US trade official, however, this may no longer be the case. Since the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), it has become clear that new diseases may appear any time that need to be addressed.
The conference also closed on a positive note regarding special and differential treatment, whereby developing countries are given longer time to implement agreements and commitments. Moreover, developing countries have asked for increased capacity- building and technical assistance to boost their trading opportunities.
Stressing the necessity for such preferential treatment, Clement Rohee, minister of foreign trade and international cooperation of Guyana, told Al-Ahram Weekly that preferential arrangements should be maintained for a specific period of time until developing countries are able to build the capacity to take advantage of global trade liberalisation. "We do not believe in maintaining these preferences as a defence to live on all the time. But we need time to make the transition."
A session was also dedicated to investment policy, competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation -- issues raised at the Singapore ministerial meeting in 1996. Participants asked that a written text be drawn up for their consideration on these matters.
They also looked at market access for non- agricultural goods. In Doha, WTO members had agreed to launch tariff-cutting negotiations on all non-agricultural products, with a view to reducing and, possibly, eliminating both tariff and non- tariff barriers. They had pledged to take into account the interests of developing countries even if it would mean giving up full reciprocity in commitments. Sharm El-Sheikh participants agreed that, with some clarification, the text on this would be a good basis to work with.
Meanwhile, the nagging issue of agriculture may undermine the consensus reached on other matters, thereby threatening the whole process. Many countries are waiting to see what they will achieve on agriculture before they give in on other issues. As Zoellick said, agriculture is key to pulling the rest of the issues along.
Although delegates have expressed a positive attitude towards what can still be achieved before Cancun and their commitment to the multilateral system, it remains to be seen how matters will proceed. Pascale Lamy, the European Commission's trade commissioner, speaking at a press conference at the end of the two- day meetings, stressed that Cancun is not the beginning or the end. "It's a stop-over," he said. "We will decide in Cancun whether or not we can reconfirm the 2004 deadline."
The progress that is required to meet the 2004 deadline relies almost entirely on political will. "There has to be a meeting of minds and some political will on everybody's side to get people towards a more coherent position," said Magdi Farahat, head of the Egyptian Commercial Office in Geneva.
He highlighted the fact that the conference venue is important in influencing how talks go. Since the host country sends out the invitations, some countries, who would otherwise not be there, have the opportunity to attend. Many of the people present at the meetings, from countries such as Bangladesh, Guyana and Morocco, were there for the first time. This helps negotiators in Geneva and gives an impetus to solving potential problems that may arise along the way to Cancun.
'We're watching'
UNLIKE previous informal mini-ministerial meetings, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade, the organisers of the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, this time invited non-governmental organisations. They were not part of the talks behind closed doors, but they were allowed on the premises of the venue. Only one NGO actually attended: Green Peace.
Zeina Al-Hajj, WTO trade coordinator for Green Peace, told Al-Ahram Weekly that they were there to make their voice heard on how they feel about WTO negotiations. She described the WTO process as undemocratic and lacking transparency, since not all members were invited and non-governmental organisations were not allowed to participate in the decision-making process.
Although WTO negotiations should be about trade issues, she said they were branching out to include issues that affect the lives of individuals, such as the environment and health.
"We are here to make sure that they know we are here," Al-Hajj said. "They know we are watching them and that civil society will do its best to oppose -- not just for the sake of opposing, but to oppose to make things better."
In Cancun, she said, they will be heard on the street, "because that is the only thing we are allowed".
Al-Hajj believes all players should be take part. "There is a necessity for discussion, for debate and for the exchange of ideas and opinions. You can't take a decision just because it is suitable for trade. We need to take decisions because they are suitable for the environment, culture, the economy and for all of society."
NGOs would like to see a shift in WTO thinking that provides better opportunities for the poor. "We need to have fair trade that is democratic, open and looks after the needs of developing countries," she said.
FTA let down
US TRADE Representative Robert Zoellick shrugged off the possibility that negotiations over a free trade area (FTA) with Egypt may begin any time soon. "Egypt has some work to do," he told reporters during a press conference at the end of the WTO informal mini-ministerial meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The Egyptian government has been seeking an FTA with the US for the past couple of years. Egyptian businessmen have recently been optimistic that negotiations may be announced soon. They feel Egypt has come a long way on many of the issues the US administration had underlined. "There has been some improvement in intellectual property rights and some law changes," Zoellick said.
Much still remains to be done, however. Customs reform seems to be among the issues holding back an agreement on the start of negotiations. Zoellick said financial assistance has been directed at helping the Egyptian government address customs reform. According to informed sources, the US administration is particularly concerned about Egypt failing to fulfil its commitment regarding customs valuation. "We need to make sure that Egypt can follow on its obligations," Zoellick said.
The US is currently negotiating an FTA with Morocco and, according to Zoellick, hopes to start negotiations with Bahrain soon.
