[May look up <https://mc9.wto.org/system/files/documents/w10_1.pdf> for the text of the clauses relevant to "PUBLIC STOCKHOLDING FOR FOOD SECURITY PURPOSES", which constituted the very centre-piece of intense negotiations at the meet.]
I/II. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/wto-seals-trade-deal-at-bali-meeting/article5433032.ece Updated: December 7, 2013 15:55 IST WTO seals trade deal at Bali meeting PUJA MEHRA Just before noon on Saturday, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministers at Bali finally adopted the historic five-draft decision declaration and the 10-document full Bali Package that addresses the Doha Development Agenda. "We have put the world back into the WTO," said Director-General of the WTO Roberto Azevedo at the closing ceremony after the adoption. "First time in our history the WTO has truly delivered." He quoted Nelson Mandela: “It seems impossible till it is done”. There had been apprehensions that if Bali didn't come through the Doha Round and with it the WTO will become lifeless. Post-Bali, the negotiators in Geneva will now focus on the long-stalled issues of the Doha Development Round in a work programme they committed to complete within 12 months. "The Bali Declaration is the stepping stone to the completion of the Doha Round," said Mr. Azevedo. At the opening of the Ministerial on Tuesday, Mr. Azevedo had challenged the delegates to sidestep politics to make Bali a success and at the closing on Saturday he said, they did show the political will to go across the finish line. The declaration is as India had wanted. It takes care of all of India's concerns on both food security and trade facilitation. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma told reporters after the declaration was adopted, "It’s a happy coincidence that the Doha Round, the only development agenda, has been revived and re-energised in Bali and India could play a major role here as it had been lying moribund till 2008 and then in 2009 I had in a meeting in Bali discussed with US Trade Representative Michael Froman and the then Indonesian Trade Minister Mary Pengitsu the urgent need to revive the Doha Round.” “The WTO has come alive and we saw it as it should be: negotiating, dynamic, working hard to get an agreement and innovative solutions, willing to engage and compromise, seeking common ground and inclusive — something we have not seen in a long time,” said Mr. Azevedo. Chair of the ninth ministerial and Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirajwan said at the closing ceremony: “We focused on national interests and common good, we upheld the right of the developing countries to give food security to billions of the world’s poorest people and through trade facilitation opened up the potential of injecting up $1 trillion into the global economy and so we have the energy and confidence to conclude Doha.” II. http://www.odi.org.uk/opinion/8056-wto-bali-declaration-least-development-countries-trade-facilitation-agriculture-doha-round WTO Bali Declaration: what does it mean? 6 December 2013 Yurendra Basnett <http://www.odi.org.uk/about/staff/936-yurendra-basnett> The WTO Ministerial in Bali<http://mc9.wto.org/system/files/documents/decw1.pdf> is likely to agree to a deal on some of the following areas of negotiations: a package for Least Development Countries (LDCs), Trade facilitation, and Agriculture. But what does it all mean for developing countries in general, and for LDCs in particular? The Bali Ministerial was preceded by intense negotiations in Geneva on the Doha Round<http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm>. By the evening of 2 December, when officials were rushing to catch their flights to Bali, no ‘Bali package’ was in sight – the result of continued disagreements on trade facilitation and agriculture. The goal for Bali was, therefore, to find a ‘safe landing zone’ on all three areas of negotiations. The outcome of Bali should be measured not just on whether such a landing zone was found but, more importantly, whether it will allow the negotiations to take-off again and reach their final destination: the conclusion of the Doha Development Round. *The LDC package* has been the least controversial of the three negotiation areas, largely because the contents of the package are best endeavours rather than binding commitments. WTO members reaffirmed their commitment to duty free, quota free (DFQF) market access for LDCs. But the actual developmental benefits remain questionable. Limited export basket of LDCs means anything less than 100% coverage is of little practical use. Tariffs are falling rapidly, so the benefits of DFQF are eroding rapidly. Improvements in rules of origin and non-tariff barriers would have been more beneficial to LDCs as these are the barriers that really block market access. A 15-year service waiver<http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/serv_17dec11_e.htm> (WTO members can provide preferential markets access on trade in services to LDCs without having to do the same to the rest of the membership) was agreed at the 2011 WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, and Bali has helped to set the course for its operationalisation. On the whole, however, there has been little improvement in the LDC package since 2011 Ministerial Conference<http://www.odi.org.uk/opinion/6212-time-world-trade-organization-change-tack> . Negotiations on* trade facilitation *(TF)– reducing the cost of trading – entailed making binding commitments in customs procedures and regulations. Improvements in TF are a ‘no-brainer’<http://community.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blogs/dirk-willem-te-velde-what-is-at-stake-at-this-week-s-wto-negotiat>, but we need to distinguish between ‘improvements’ and ‘commitments’. Commitments made in the WTO are binding and subject to legal action if they are not adhered to. Meeting trade facilitation commitments will require investment, and many will be capital intensive. Developing countries, and in particular LDCs, will need finance and technology to upgrade and improve TF. Section 2 <https://mc9.wto.org/system/files/documents/w8_0.pdf> of the Bali Declaration provides assurance that developing countries and LDCs will be supported in building capacities to implement the agreement. The reaffirmation of commitments on *Aid for Trade* (AfT) is to be welcomed. After the Global AfT review in Geneva in July<http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/a4t_e/global_review13_e.htm>, we had called for such a reaffirmation<http://www.odi.org.uk/opinion/7615-aid-trade-agenda-wto-bali-ministerial-conference-some-ideas> at the very minimum. The new AfT work programme in the WTO is to be framed by the post-2015 global development agenda <http://post2015.org/> – a shift from the Hong Kong Ministerial declaration on AfT that will have implications for the 2006 AfT Task Force recommendations<http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/a4t_e/implementing_par57_e.htm> on AfT operationalisation. In the 2013 European Report on Development, we discussed the role of trade in the post-2015 global development agenda<http://www.erd-report.eu/erd/report_2012/documents/chapters/Chapter8-Goods_Tradeandinvestment.pdf>, and how AfT can help. Bali has also presented an opportunity for the future of AfT<http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/8045-future-directions-aid-trade-aft> to be more streamlined and more focused on addressing the high cost of trading in LDCs. Negotiations on *agriculture, *more specifically on food-stock holding*,* presented the main action in Bali. There were two viewpoints on the price benchmark for the valuation of the volume of food stocks countries can legally hold. India’s position was to use current prices, which would mean amending the agriculture agreement of the Uruguay Round<http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm> and would not be acceptable to other members. Alternatively, India proposed an interim arrangement until a more permanent solution is found. Here, the United States proposed a ‘sunset clause’ of four years – a time-line that India did not accept. A final deal was struck to have an interim mechanism<https://mc9.wto.org/system/files/documents/w10_1.pdf> until a permanent solution is found, which means that more negotiation is still required to find a permanent solution. So where do we go from Bali? When WTO negotiations stalled in 2008 it looked as if the Doha Round had gone into coma. One positive turn of events in Bali is that members are now actively negotiating. So while the Doha Round is coming out of its coma, it is still very much in the intensive-care unit. WTO membership has also increased, with Yemen coming on board in Bali after more than decade of accession negotiations. This growing membership had provided one celebratory note in the otherwise stalled negotiations of the previous two Ministerials, but it can’t continue to be the only source of celebration. The rise of regional and mega-regionals is being pointed to as a challenge to the future of the multilateral trading system. But Ministers in the plenary sessions in Bali were quick to put this down and present arguments on why WTO still remains important for global economic governance. A deal in Bali has certainly helped to breathe life into the Doha Development Round. The symbolism of the Bali declaration is perhaps more important than the outcome as it covers only a small portion of the Doha Development Agenda and much ground still needs to be covered. Country delegation members I spoke to expressed that the conclusion of the Doha Round is now in sight. But there was also a sober realisation that, whatever the final agreement is, it will not encompass the ambitious Doha Development Agenda in its entirety. It will be a leaner version that is already being referred to as ‘Doha lite’. This post features the author's personal view and does not represent the view of ODI . -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
