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On Mon, 1 Jan 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> ----------
> From: Bob Olsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 13:41:00 -0500
>
>
>
> Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt dissatisfied
> with WTO General Council, Dec 15-16, 2000
>
>
>
> From: "BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest Vol. 4, Number 48
> Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 4, Number 48 19 December, 2000
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.ictsd.org/html/weekly/inbrief.12-19-00.htm
>
> Table of Contents
>
> - Note To Subscribers
> - Delegates Laud 'Montpellier Spirit' At First ICCP Meeting For The
> Biosafety Protocol
> - WTO Hands Developing Countries 'Modest, Meagre Result' In Implementation
> - Ozone Talks Go Smoothly But Fall Short On Commitments
> - US Releases Final Guidelines For Environmental Review Of Trade Agreements
> - Delegates Tackle Heavy Workload At CITES Plants And Animals Committees
> - In Brief
> - WTO In Brief
> - Events & Resources
>
> ........................ snip ...............................
>
>
> WTO HANDS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 'MODEST, MEAGRE RESULT' IN IMPLEMENTATION
>
> The final 2000 meeting of the WTO General Council Special Session on
> Implementation last week (15-16 December), produced little in ways of
> progress for developing country demands at the global trade body. In what
> WTO Director-General Mike Moore termed a "modest, meagre result," Members
> essentially re-confirmed what was decided by the General Council in May
> 2000: that the Council would continue to meet in Special Sessions to
> address the various issues and concerns of developing countries (see
> BRIDGES Weekly, 9-5-00,
> http://www.ictsd.org/html/weekly/story1.09-05-00.htm). These are outlined
> in paragraphs 21 and 22 of the 19 October 1999 Draft Ministerial Text
> (see http://www.ictsd.org/English/Declaration3.rtf), and cover areas such
> as fuller implementation of previous commitments in textiles, subsidies
> and antidumping, as well as concerns over not being able to meet
> obligations from prior negotiations such as the Uruguay Round.
>
> Some key developing country Members -- in particular Pakistan, Brazil and
> Egypt -- voiced dissatisfaction with the final decision emanating from
> the meeting, which deferred completion of the implementation process to
> "no later than the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference",
> expected in late 2001. Pakistan's ambassador to the WTO, Munir Akram,
> said that most of the developing countries' concerns had not been
> addressed and the results were "modest indeed". The glass was not just
> half empty, he said, there was "barely any water in it". The decision did
> not address some of the more contentious issues currently being sought
> for resolution by developing countries, such as textiles or antidumping,
> where developing countries have demanded changes to existing WTO
> agreements in order to secure or gain better access for their goods in
> developed countries.
>
> A package agreement on extending an implementation deadline for the
> Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) for nine
> developing countries also continues to be held up, mostly by the US,
> which is resisting an across-the-board approach in favour of negotiating
> bilateral concessions (see BRIDGES Weekly, 21-11-00,
> http://www.ictsd.org/html/weekly/story4.21-11-00.htm). A decision has
> been postponed until early 2001, expected at the next meeting of the
> Goods Council on 2 February.
>
> Moore expressed frustration with the slow movement on implementation
> issues from Members' capitals. "What we're talking about is an
> engagement, making some progress and then moving on," he said following
> the meeting. "But in the end, if a capital, major or minor, feels it
> cannot show any more space on an issue, that is for a sovereign
> government to decide."
>
> Trade officials speculate that the slow progress could be due to
> negotiation strategy on the part of many delegations -- both developed
> and developing -- that remain reluctant to move on implementation outside
> of a broader context such as a new round of trade negotiations. "Some
> countries want to keep this [implementation] issue on the table as long
> as possible," said one trade source. "If all the concessions are granted
> now Members lose the ability to keep it as a bargaining chip in broader
> negotiations." Members failed to launch a new round last year in Seattle,
> when talks around the scope and content of a trade round were scuttled
> due to lingering disagreements among countries over a number of
> procedural and substantive issues. Some countries are pushing for a new
> round to be launched at the Fourth Ministerial next year, the venue of
> which remains a toss-up between Qatar, Chile, and Geneva.
>
> A WTO Secretariat compilation of all implementation demands is due out in
> January 2001. The paper will summarise all implementation proposals and
> requests -- including those under paragraphs 21 and 22 of the 199 Draft
> Ministerial Text -- submitted thus far. General Council Chair K�re Bryn
> indicated that he would continue to conduct informal consultations on the
> matter.
>
> One of the only concrete decisions taken at the Special Session was to
> include Honduras among the list of countries with a per capita gross
> national product of less than $US 1,000 which are granted exemptions
> under the WTO subsidies accord. Honduras was left out of the list by
> mistake. A reference to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
> that called for the removal of administrative barriers impeding the
> implementation of Member commitments on the movement of natural persons
> was taken out of an earlier draft after the US delegation made its
> objection known to the Chair.
>
> "Developing countries express disappointment at WTO talks," AFP, 15
> December 2000; "WTO deal on TRIMs put off until early next year as
> differences remain," WTO REPORTER, 18 December 2000; WTO's Moore cites
> 'modes progress' on addressing implementation concerns," WTO REPORTER, 18
> December 2000; ICTSD Internal Files.
>
> ........................ snip ...............................
>
>
> You can get the complete newsletter at
>
> http://www.ictsd.org/html/weekly/inbrief.12-19-00.htm
>
>
> BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest� is published by the
> International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
> (ICTSD) with support from the Institute for Agriculture and
> Trade Policy (IATP). Researches at ICTSD include Nathalie
> Lhayani, Marie Chamay and Dara Edmonds; written by Judy
> Brienza (IATP) and edited by Hugo Cameron, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> The Director is Ricardo Mel�ndez-Ortiz, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> ............................................
> Liberate democracy from corporate control
>
> Bob Olsen, Toronto [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> ............................................
>
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>
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