OECD Chief Urges Doha Participants To 'Go The Last Mile'

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

02 September 2008

OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, has called on the participants in negotiations for a new multilateral trade agreement to “go the last mile” and bring the World Trade Organization’s Doha round to a successful conclusion.

Issuing a statement this week at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Mr Gurría observed that:

“There is no scarcity of worrying news on the global economy these days. But it is in our power to provide an immensely positive signal, by bringing the WTO’s Doha round to a successful conclusion. The WTO is about open markets."

He continued: "Opening up markets further in the Doha negotiations is one of the most important contributions we can make to stimulating the world economy and to allowing all nations to benefit from global economic progress."

"Open markets are particularly important for economic and social development. It was, therefore, a wise decision at Doha to place priority emphasis, in this round of WTO negotiations, on development."

"Considerable progress has been made in the Doha negotiations over the years, and the July 2008 Ministerial has added significant elements to a package of potential final results. The serious efforts made in July testify that the benefits of open markets are well understood, particularly at a time when the global economy is showing signs of weakness," the OECD chief suggested, going on to add that:

"What is needed now is the political will, including at the highest level of governments, to go the last mile. Short-term domestic political concerns must not get in the way of achieving the global public good that is now so clearly in sight. We can build on the good progress that was achieved up to and in the July Ministerial, and provide negotiators with the leeway needed to seal a package of ambitious results."

"Fundamentally, a Doha breakthrough, so nearly in reach in July, now depends on political leadership more than on anything else. Where further analysis and evidence can assist, the OECD stands ready to provide whatever may be needed," Gurria concluded.

Earlier this year, the World Trade Organisation's (WTO's) Director-General, Pascal Lamy, announced that ministers attending the trade talks in Geneva had failed in their efforts to agree on blueprint agreements in agriculture and industrial products.

He revealed that out 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.

According to Mr Lamy, 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.

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