NAMA - Not An Easy Row to Hoe

Geneva - As the negotiating climate for the Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations receives a boost from two major players - the United States and the European Union - increased activity in the nonagricultural market access negotiations is expected in the weeks ahead (WTD, 12/15/06).

NAMA negotiations chair Canada's Don Stephenson says it is wrong to assume that the issues within the NAMA mandate will be "easy" once agriculture is resolved. He warned members that they are "kidding" themselves if they think that issues such as sectoral tariff elimination or even addressing textiles can be pushed through at the "eleventh hour" of the negotiations. In a wide-ranging interview with WTD, Mr. Stephenson argued that all issues in the NAMA mandate - from the formula to coefficients, flexibilities for recently acceded members, textiles and sectorals - must be addressed simultaneously so that each member has a clear idea what his country will "pay" and what it will "get" in return.

The NAMA chair told WTD that - unlike in agriculture - there is no such notion as a "center of gravity" in NAMA. He suggested that it would be unwise to wait for an outcome on agriculture before determining what should be the level of "ambition" in NAMA. Instead, members must grapple with all the key issues in the NAMA mandate to ensure that there is a balanced outcome - and do it soon.