Archive - Mar 2006

Senior trade officials of an 11 country group yesterday failed to narrow their differences on how to achieve 'ambitious' market access opportunities in the Doha Development Agenda industrials negotiations a result that could place this weekend's London trade ministerial summit in jeopardy, WTD was told.

Even as the talks for the Doha Round negotiations escalate to their most critical point, and there is a flurry of activity in Geneva with more frequent 'negotiating weeks' in agriculture, NAMA and services, many have the distinct feel that the real negotiations are taking place outside Geneva amongst 6 - 10 Members.

Negotiations on non agricultural market access (NAMA) will be taking place all this week at the WTO. Among the topics scheduled for discussion are flexibilities for developing countries, the link between agriculture and NAMA negotiations, non-tariff barriers and sectoral initiatives.

Doha Development Agenda nonagricultural market access negotiations chairman Don Stephenson yesterday said members have only a 'small window' for reaching agreement by the end of April on what he called core elements of an agreement a formula, treatment of unbound tariffs and 'paragraph eight' flexibilities for developing countries.

The WIPO meeting on a Development Agenda was moving slowly towards how to categorise the many proposals presented by members, so that further discussion can be held on how to treat these proposals.

The WIPO meeting on a Development Agenda ended on 24 February evening with an agreement that the next session would discuss six major themes with a total of 111 proposals that have been identified for a Development Agenda for WIPO.

Several collective requests were made on 28 February to selected countries to take part in plurilateral sectoral meetings under the WTO's services negotiations. More requests are expected to be made in the next few days.

Trade envoys from some major countries yesterday demanded the circulation of simulation exercise results based on the different tariff-reduction proposals in Doha Development Agenda market access negotiations for farm products and industrials, WTD has learned.

The plurilateral services negotiations that were launched at the WTO on 28 February by the major developed countries (joined by a handful of developing members) are clearly aimed at creating a new negotiating method to more effectively pressurize some emerging developing economies to open up many of their key services sectors to competition from the large multinational service enterprises.

Doha Development Agenda market access for industrials Chairman Don Stephenson on Friday issued a detailed work program to accelerate talks on the most difficult issues a formula for cutting tariffs, the treatment of unbound tariffs and flexibilities for developing countries (see related report this issue).