Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 39 • 19th November 2003
AG Talks: GC Chair Reports Progress, Key Members Sceptical
Carlos Perez del Castillo, Chair of the WTO General Council, reported to Members at an informal ‘green room’ meeting at the heads of delegation level on 18 November on progress made in the first round of post-Cancun consultations on agriculture (also see related story, this issue). A week earlier, on 13 November, a group of ten key Members had met to exchange views on what some saw as a largely "Chair-driven process" in agriculture, which they felt was putting more pressure on Members to move than they were prepared to do at the current stage of talks.
Chair Perez del Castillo: common approach in sight
Chair Perez del Castillo made clear at the outset of post-Cancun talks that agriculture played an "important central role" in the Doha round, and that a serious effort was needed in order to bridge the remaining gaps in Members’ positions. He proceeded on the basis that there was "wide acceptance" of the objective to adopt a framework for establishing modalities in agriculture, rather than agreeing on full modalities including clear targets, numbers and rules-based elements. Reportedly, only a few countries — e.g. G-20 leader Brazil and India — had preferred concrete numbers in the framework text (see BRIDGES Weekly, 30 October 2003).
Chair Perez del Castillo, keen to avoid "academic" discussions on which text to base further discussions, chose to test a set of key parameters for a possible negotiating package for the agriculture framework among Members. He said he envisaged an approach along three basic lines. First, to seek "greater reductions in domestic support than the levels envisaged in the original EC/US proposal" (see BRIDGES Weekly, 21 August 2003). Second, to seek "commitments on the elimination of all forms of export competition" [namely export subsidies, as well as the subsidy elements in other export competition regimes such as export credits, food aid and state trading enterprises], although a concrete end date for phasing them out would not be inserted in the framework text. Third, "commitments for the opening of markets from all Members, developed and developing," though with the provision that developing countries would be accorded special and differential treatment (S&D) taking into account their "development and specific needs".
Cracks appear in Members’ support for Chair’s approach
Reportedly, a number of key Members — including the Quad (US, EC, Canada and Japan), Australia, Brazil, China, India, Mauritius and Switzerland — met on 13 November for an informal consultation. This core group exchanged views and expressed difficulties that some had with Perez del Castillo’s mainly "Chair-driven process". In particular, several Members were concerned with the Chair’s intention to discuss substantive elements of the "Derbez text" prior to the 15 December General Council meeting, an approach they felt could have far- reaching consequences for Members’ positioning. As not all countries were in a position to negotiate at this stage, some Members — such as the EC — reportedly indicated that the agricultural talks could be extended beyond the 15 December deadline until February. This, according to a source, could give the US some more time to reflect on its options before becoming fully absorbed by domestic concerns relating to its 2004 presidential elections.
However, reporting on progress at the 18 November green room meeting, Chair Perez del Castillo emphasised the positive discussions he had had with Members, as well as the "constructive spirit" of the talks. According to the Chair, discussions had moved towards a common approach, encouraging him to move on to a second round of consultations on agriculture commencing at end of this week.
ICTSD reporting.