'Medieval' WTO Needs Fundamental Reform Says Lamy

by Ulrika Lomas, Txa-News.com, Brussels

18 September 2003

The European Union's chief trade negotiator Pascal Lamy has suggested that the World Trade Organistion may need radical reforms to its decision making process following the collapse of the Cancun talks, caused by a fundamental spilt between the developed and developing nations over the issue of tariffs and subsidies.

"I do not want to beat about the bush: Cancun has failed", declared Lamy at the conclusion of the Cancun summit. "We were ready to significantly cut down our tariffs and open our markets to farm imports", he claimed, continuing:

"Despite the commitment of many able people, the WTO remains a medieval organisation. I said this in Seattle, got a lot of flak and I have to repeat it here. The procedures and rules of this organisation have not supported the weight of the task."

The EU Trade Commissioner observed that much of the frustration felt at Cancun stemmed from a negotiating system which makes it nigh on impossible to achieve any kind of consensus amongst the 146 nations involved. "The decision-making needs to be revamped" Lamy announced, adding: "The EU remains committed to a strong rules-based multilateral trading system and will continue to work in this direction within the WTO."

Speaking at a Brussels press conference this week Lamy told reporters: "We will have to have a good hard think amongst ourselves. I am still a believer in it [multilateralism], and believe that this should be a priority, but circumstances are such that when we get a bit of a shock of this sort, we have to stop and think, and make sure that we all actually still agree on this".

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