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WTO regrets failure of Doha Agenda
Maxwell Awumah, GNA Special Correspondent, Crans-Montana,
Switzerland
Geneva, Sept. 26, Ghanadot/GNA - Mr Alejandro Jara, Deputy
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has
said the failure of Doha Agenda would have serious
implications on the ongoing efforts by all developing
countries to address their challenges and, in particular,
meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He noted that it was becoming more critical by the day as
the economic and financial outlook continued to deteriorate
while negotiations were deadlocked.
“The most pressing crisis, which is relevant to growth and
poverty reduction, is that of the current food crisis,” he
said.
Mr Jara, who was addressing the maiden Geneva Trade and
Development Forum (GTDF) in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, said
whilst the WTO could not provide immediate solutions, it
could, however, facilitate the Doha Round to provide medium
to long-term solutions, to better connect demand and offer.
He said a comprehensive WTO deal could assist to soften the
impact of high prices.
The Deputy Director-General noted that although “Aid for
Trade” was excluded from the negotiation agenda, a failure
to conclude the round successfully risked impacting
negatively on the scale of resources that donors had
undertaken to provide.
“We need an integrated agenda for boosting the productive
capacities of developing countries so that they could
translate these new trade opportunities into trade flows, in
addition to freer and fairer trade rules.”
Mr Jara debunked the assertion that multilateral trading
system had broken down but added that the system was
actually transforming itself to reflect the new commercial
realities.
“It is being reshaped by some new and sometimes quite
aggressive players, who have high stakes in the system and
who now vigorously defend their interests.”
Mr Jara said over 30 ministers of trade met in Geneva
recently to establish agricultural and industrial modalities
towards a final deal of the Doha Round of negotiations
adding that addressing the remaining hurdles and the long
standing differences was likely to give the system a boost.
He said the WTO members entered the conference looking at
agricultural subsidies, tariffs and industrial tariffs,
declaring that a convergence was reached on agricultural
subsidies, even if, specific extra reduction for cotton
subsidies remained unaddressed.
Mr Jara said success was reached for the various elements of
the Doha package designed to address the developed and
developing world’s many sensitivities on special products
reserved exclusively for the developing world, with these
products taking either a lower or reduced tariff than the
norm of no reduction at all, to make trade opening more
gradual.
He enumerated progress in existing special safeguard
mechanisms, quota tariffs and tariff quota administration,
export competition pillar, preference erosion and tropical
product as well as convergence on the thorny issue of
bananas, its settlement, which, he said, was overdue.
WTO negotiations collapsed on the details of the special
safeguard mechanism for agricultural producers for the
developing world, basically, on circumstances, extent of
volume surge, price decline of imported products and
magnitude of extra duty.
GNA
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