'Marathon Man' Determined To Run Last Doha Mile

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

05 May 2009

The World Trade Organization General Council on April 30 agreed to reappoint the global trade arbiter’s Director-General, Pascal Lamy, for a second term of four years as from September 1, 2009.

The unanimous decision followed Lamy’s presentation on his vision for the WTO and a question-and-answer session held the day before in which he described the organization as a “living organism” which should continue to improve its capacity to “rapidly react to global challenges,” especially in the face of the growing threat of protectionism, the result of the ongoing global economic slump.

Lamy, who somehow squeezes the odd marathon into his spare time, began his career in the French civil service at the Inspection Générale des Finances and at the Treasury. He then became an advisor to the Finance Minister Jacques Delors, and subsequently to Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy. Between 1999 and 2004, Lamy was Commissioner for Trade at the European Commission under Romano Prodi. He took up his post at the WTO in September 2005 and has won many admirers for his dogged pursuit of the difficult Doha Round of world trade negotiations.

“The reinforcement of the multilateral trading system, in particular through the conclusion of the Doha Round, should be our guiding light,” he said. “In the constellation of global governance, let’s work together to see the WTO star shining ever brighter.”

The Doha talks collapsed last July, with ministers attending trade talks in Geneva failing in their efforts to agree on blueprint agreements in agriculture and industrial products. Of a to-do list of 20 topics, 18 had seen positions converge but the gaps could not narrow on the 19th — the special safeguard mechanism for developing countries; some countries wanted a high “trigger” (a large import surge needed to trigger the tariff increase) in order to avoid the safeguard being triggered by normal trade growth, while others wanted a lower trigger so that the safeguard could be easier to use and more useful.

Lamy said that delivering a successful conclusion to the Doha Round remains “the litmus test of our collective ability to strengthen the global trading system.”

“This is why I believe that concluding the Doha Development Round is and should remain our number one priority,” he argued.

“We have walked along the Doha Round path for seven years now and we are 80 per cent of the way there. We have done it together, with a bottom-up, inclusive process. A lot has been achieved — if you look back from where we started, there is a fairly long list of issues where views have converged. I believe the time is ripe to start taking the negotiations to the last phase; i.e. to run the last mile,” said the former EU Trade Commissioner, who, as a marathon runner, is no stranger to extreme tests of endurance.

Lamy's reappointment was welcomed by Catherine Ashton, the current EU Trade Commissioner. She commented:

"The decision by WTO members today is extremely good news for the multilateral system as a whole, as Pascal Lamy has been a tireless advocate of the benefits of open and rules-based trade."

"It is good news for the Doha Round of world trade talks, as it reflects the confidence of WTO members in the current process and Pascal Lamy's leadership. His reappointment allows us to continue seamlessly based on the good work already done."

"This is good news in the fight against the economic downturn, as Pascal Lamy has shown leadership in the international effort to fight protectionism and get trade finance moving again."

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