I/II. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-wto-usa/u-s-trade-chief-hails-wto-splinter-groups-as-victory-idUSKBN1E834M
DECEMBER 15, 2017 / 3:28 AM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO U.S. trade chief hails WTO splinter groups as victory David Lawder 4 MIN READ WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization failed to conclude any new agreements at its biennial meeting this week, but U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade chief is hailing as a victory the formation of factions by some WTO countries to push their own interests. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speaks at the 11th World Trade Organization's ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Thursday that the ministerial conference in Buenos Aires “will be remembered as the moment when the impasse at the WTO was broken.” The assessment was in contrast to dejected fellow WTO trade ministers who lamented the 164-member trade body’s inability to reach new agreements on electronic commerce, agriculture and curbs to fisheries subsidies. Despite his sharp criticism of the 164-member trade body’s inability to negotiate new agreements, Lighthizer managed to attract enough allies at the meeting to form smaller groups of countries to pursue new rules for open electronic commerce and to break down unreasonable trade barriers on food safety. The U.S. also agreed to team up with the European Union and Japan to work within the WTO to combat the kinds of market-distorting trade polices practiced by China, such as subsidies to state-owned enterprises and technology transfer requirements. “Many members recognized that the WTO must pursue a fresh start in key areas so that like-minded WTO members and their constituents are not held back by the few members that are not ready to act,” added Lighthizer, who left Buenos Aires the night before the conference concluded on Wednesday. Lighthizer’s endorsement of a new direction for the WTO talks may ease fears that Trump will pull out of the trade body, as he once suggested during his election campaign last year. But the statement made no mention of U.S. actions to block WTO judicial appointments, widely seen as a gambit to win reforms in its dispute settlement system. INDIA, U.S. TRADE BARBS The U.S. trade agency and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry traded thinly veiled barbs at each other for holding up progress in Buenos Aires. Lighthizer blamed “one WTO member with an extreme position” for blocking a short ministerial declaration expressing the shared views of 164 members. A source familiar with the WTO negotiations said that India would not agree to the statement’s final wording. U.S. officials had previously refused to include references to the “centrality” of the global trading system and the need for trade to drive development. India has long insisted that the WTO follow through on the development mandates of the previous Doha round of negotiations before moving on to new areas such as e-commerce. New Delhi also nearly blocked a routine renewal of the WTO’s 1998 tariff moratorium on cross-border digital downloads, meeting participants said. India’s post-conference statement singled out U.S. opposition to a deal on agriculture, specifically India’s demands for permanent tariff rules to promote food security for developing countries. “Unfortunately, the strong position of one member against agricultural reform based on current WTO mandates and rules led to a deadlock without any outcome on agriculture or even a work program for the next two years,” India’s Commerce ministry said. Lighthizer added that he was “proud to defend the interests of U.S. stakeholders at the WTO, including our farmers and ranchers.” He said that U.S. agriculture interests needed WTO rules based on today’s market realities, rather than the “outdated and unworkable” negotiating framework set when the Doha round was launched in 2001. Additional reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Marguerita Choy Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. II. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/mc11-wto-talks-collapse-no-agreement-on-food-security/article9992680.ece WTO talks collapse, no agreement on food security AMITI SEN Activists from India protest against the 11th World Trade Organization's ministerial conference inside the hotel where the conference is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Reuters Activists from India protest against the 11th World Trade Organization's ministerial conference inside the hotel where the conference is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Delivers work programmes on fisheries, e-commerce BUENOS AIRES, DEC 14: The World Trade Organisation's Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires ended in an impasse on Wednesday evening as the US reneged on the commitment to give a permanent solution on public stockholding for developing countries. It also objected to any reference to the Doha development mandate in the proposed Ministerial Declaration which was something that was not acceptable to India and many other countries. New Delhi, however, said that it managed to protect all its defensive interests. "The US position on a permanent solution led to a collapse of the agriculture negotiations. When there could be no agreement on agriculture, the possibility of an overall declaration also declined. But our food security remains protected as the peace clause is intact," a government official told BusinessLine. KEY TAKEAWAYS The biggest takeaway from MC 11 was the commitment from members to secure a deal on fisheries subsidies which delivers on taking commitments for paring IUU (illegal, unregulated , unreported) subsidies by 2019, said Susana Malcorra, Argentinean Minister and chair of MC 11. Members also committed to improve the reporting of existing fisheries subsidy programmes. "Buenos Aires will be remembered as the fisheries conference. It is here that the talks that were deadlocked for 15 years got moving," she said. Pushing back a commitment on curbing IUU subsidies to 2019, despite a number of members eager to have an interim solution with immediate cuts, is a victory for India, the official said. India now has more time to ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place to protect artisenal fishers. A work programme on e-commerce was also adopted at the MC 11 which was exactly like the one proposed by India with the old work programme continuing and a two year continuation of the moratorium on e-commerce linked to the continuation of one on TRIPS and non-violation complaints. "During MC11 India stood firm on its stand on the fundamental principles of the WTO, including multilateralism, rule-based consensual decision-making, an independent and credible dispute resolution and appellate process, the centrality of development, which underlies the DDA, and special and differential treatment for all developing countries", according to an official release. In addition, members took a number of other ministerial decisions, including extending the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions for another two years, and commitment to continue negotiations in all areas. "Development and inclusiveness must remain at the heart of our work. They certainly remain at the core of my priorities in everything we do," WTO DG Roberto Azevedo said at a press conference at the end of the three-day meeting. Some large groups of members have come together to advance issues of interest to them and to the global economy such as MSMEs, investment facilitation and e-commerce. "These groups are not just notable for their numbers, but for the diversity of the members involved: developed, developing and least-developed," Azevedo said. The groups, however, are informal and do not have a negotiating mandate. -- 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 https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
