In the absence of any significant progress to conclude a multilateral trade deal under the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade ministers from some of the key developed countries and emerging economies are expected to meet on the margins of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) annual forum later this week in order to assess the movement made by the trade negotiators in Geneva so far.
The OECD annual forum is going to be held in Paris from May 26-28, where trade ministers from the US, EU, Australia, South Africa, China, India and Brazil would hold informal talks to explore and assess the progress made by them to have a multilateral trade deal under WTO that would seek to promote exports from the emerging economies to developed countries, which, in turn, would give them greater access to the markets of the developing nations.
“At present, text-based negotiations are under progress. But the progress had been slow. In a few days from now, there would be an informal ministerial on the margins of the OECD ministerial in Paris. We will at least have an opportunity to sit together for a realistic assessment. But our commitment remains to an early and successful conclusion of the WTO talks,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told Business Standard.
Sharma also said leaders might come up with another deadline to conclude the talks in the G-20 summit in Canada next month after taking stock of the progress made so far since the last formal WTO ministerial in November 2009 in Geneva.
Last week, Ambassador Luzius Wasescha, who is at present chairing the negotiating group on market access at WTO, said some progress had been made on non-tariff measures, including on issues related to remanufactured goods, textile labelling and international standards. The negotiations on Nama (Non-agricultural market access) aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs on products of export interest to developing countries.
According to trade analysts and experts, there had been no movement at all in some of the significant areas of agricultural safeguards, cut in cotton subsidies, special products, sectorals and anti-concentration in the negotiations concerning agriculture and Nama. They also indicated that the leaders might announce 2013 or 2014 as the new deadline to conclude the negotiations.
“There had been no progress at all since the last ministerial took place in Geneva. The US has just appointed its ambassador to WTO but no significant movement was seen in the talks. As far as the deadline of 2010 is concerned, it is not doable at all. We are not there as yet. Any new deadline by the top leaders is welcome, but that has to be diligently followed up with real progress on the negotiating table,” said Manab Majumdar, head, WTO and foreign trade division, Ficci.
Last week, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy had said the deal, if concluded, would be significant in bringing countries out of the financial slowdown by infusing $300 billion a year into the global economy. He had earlier said the “name of the game is closing the gaps” and could only be solved by giving the talks a “cocktail approach with the right dose of each ingredient and a good shake.”
