WTO Abandons April Ministerial Deadline

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

26 April 2006

Faced with gridlock in the WTO Doha Round, Director-General Pascal Lamy has stood down trade ministers who were due to meet this week, but insists that a further deadline of the end of July for agreement on 'modalities' can be reached.

Lamy said that “we may have missed the deadline but we are not in deadlock”. Earlier, in a statement at an informal meeting of heads of delegations, he said that “genuine and important progress has been made, but not fast enough to allow us to reach agreement on modalities by the end of the month”. He said that “from now on, the process to reach modalities will be continuous, Geneva-based, and focused on texts — and we should aim at finishing this work in matter of weeks rather than months”.

'We need to face the facts squarely, but not sensationally,' Lamy told the meeting. 'By now, most if not all of you know that I am a frank, direct person. It is clear to me — and it is no surprise to any of you — that we will not be in a position to establish modalities in agriculture and NAMA by the end of April, effectively end of this week. Despite all the work that has been put in by the Chairs of the negotiating groups . . . and by all participants here and in capitals, the progress made is insufficient for Ministers to be able to negotiate modalities with a reasonable chance of success. In the other area which has an April 30 deadline, RTA Transparency a draft text is on the table, and I understand that it could be close to agreement. I would like to thank Ambassador Valles, the Chairman of the Rules Negotiating Group, for his hard work and I urge all delegations to make the effort to overcome the final obstacles.'

The WTO has not been helped by the EU's apparent passivity over the Easter holiday, and George Bush's transfer of feisty Trade Representative Bob Portman to be Budget Director.

The April deadline had been seen as particularly important, because if the Doha Round, which began in 2001, is not completed by the end of this year it will be threatened by the expiry in mid-2007 of the fast-track trade negotiation mandate given by Congress to the President. Nobody thinks that the current fractious Congress will renew it.

Pascal Lamy on Friday praised Rob Portman for his contribution to the Round. Although he welcomed the elevation of Portman's deputy Susan Schwab to the top job, he must know that Portman's departure is a serious blow to the negotiations. He said: "I look forward to working with Susan as we enter a decisive phase in the negotiations, when key players will be asked to take bold moves, in order to secure a successful conclusion of the Round by the end of this year.”

The major nations are all blaming each other for the impasse in talks. Deputy US Trade Representative Karan Bhatia said: "There has been a real trouble in getting some of our other partners to make (similar) ambitious proposals." But EU Trade Representative Karl Falkenberg said the EU had tabled strong proposals. Both parties, but especially the EU, need to make better proposals if there is to be any hope of unblocking the Round.

Recommended