Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 40 • 26th November 2003
Developing Countries ‘Taken By Surprise’ At Talks On Singapore Issues
After a 24 November informal meeting on trade-facilitation — one of the four so called Singapore issues, which also comprise investment, competition policy and transparency in government procurement — many of the twenty invited countries expressed surprise at the strategy of the Chair.
At the meeting, WTO Deputy-Director General Rufus Yerxa, chairing the meeting on behalf of General Council Chair Carlos Perez del Castillo, invited participants to make comments on Annex E of the 13 September "Derbez text" (available at http://www.ictsd.org/ministerial/cancun/docs/draft_cancun_minist_text_rev2.pdf), which outlines modalities for negotiations on trade facilitation. Delegates were taken by surprise, according to a trade delegate, because at previous informal consultations on Singapore issues Members had reached no agreement on how a ‘2+2 formula’ would operate, i.e. whether trade facilitation, along with transparency in government procurement, would be negotiated or sent to working groups for further clarification (see BRIDGES Weekly, 13 November 2003, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/03-11-13/story1.htm). The ‘2+2 formula’ was not discussed at the 24 November meeting.
Also at the meeting, some countries raised concerns regarding costs of implementing trade facilitation. A developing country trade delegate noted that it was important not to forget that the original Doha mandate called for negotiations based ‘explicit consensus’ — which had clearly not been reached yet.
An African trade delegate stressed that African delegations should be more involved in the talks. He also expressed concern that the opponents off negotiations on Singapore issues, primarily developing countries, were being subject to pressure to come up with a result before 15 December. He indicated that the a group of developing countries coordinating on Singapore issues planned to invite the GC Chair for a meeting to inform him of their concerns.
Chair Perez del Castillo has been consulting informally among Members on four key issues — agriculture, industrial market access, cotton and the Singapore issues — since ministers failed to reach agreement at the fifth WTO Ministerial in Cancun in September. After the conclusion of a first round of talks on the four issues, Chair Perez del Castillo held a Heads of Delegations meeting on 18 November to take stock of developments so far, and started a new round of informal consultations on the issues (see BRIDGES Weekly, 19 November 2003, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/03-11-19/story1.htm). Chair Perez del Castillo is expected to hold another stock-taking session on 5 December, and on 15 December a senior officials-level session of the General Council will meet to take "necessary action" for Members to be able to conclude the round.
An informal meeting on transparency in government procurement is due to take place early next week.
ICTSD reporting.
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