Doha Meeting and the First Round of WTO Negotiations

Author: / Country: Mainland China
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Publish Date: 2002-09-01
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9. Mr. Birger Riis-Jorgensen (Foreign Minister) of Denmark I extend on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, my gratitude to the Government of Qatar and the city of Doha for hosting this historic event. I also wish to express my thanks to the President of the Conference, Mr. Mike Moore, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and Mr. Robert Habbibson, Chairman of the General Council, for guiding us through all these negotiations and providing a solid foundation for our deliberations. The world economy now more than ever needs a new round of trade negotiations to restore confidence and revitalize economic growth. It is meaningful for the international community to unite to strengthen the multilateral trading system to improve living conditions worldwide. Here in Doha, we have a historic opportunity to set aside short-term political considerations and focus on establishing a solid long-term solution to help achieve sustainable development globally. This, in turn, will further contribute to paving the way for peace and prosperity for all people in the world—not just a portion of them. We must seize this opportunity. Otherwise, we will all fail. Our goal should be to launch a development round of negotiations. We must not forget that poor countries often do not benefit sufficiently from the current international trading system. Developing members are currently being severely hit by the economic downturn. This makes it even more necessary to emphasize the need for a development round of negotiations for developing members. In this process, we must also take into account the special needs and concerns of local populations and small and vulnerable economies. The EU's "anything but weapons" initiative is an example of what is needed. We should all move forward in this spirit. Reducing existing trade barriers for the exports of developing members is the trend and the will of the people. It requires opening markets and reducing subsidies. This means fundamental changes for developed members, but it is necessary to implement it. In the long run, this will benefit all countries. However, for developing members, taking the initial difficult steps to enter the global trading system is not easy. Generally speaking, market openness will promote development through investment and production that drive economic growth. Those countries (regions) that have already actively participated in the global trading system have been more successful. Specific support should be provided to developing members so that they can fully benefit from the liberalization process. In this regard, we find that capacity-building is a key area. Similarly, in the field of intellectual property rights, assistance and flexibility must be provided to developing members in implementing the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The flexibility of TRIPS must be fully utilized. Trade and investment are necessary, but not sufficient conditions for sustainable development. Social protection, gender-aware standards, and environmental measures are key factors in ensuring sustainable development. The process of opening markets cannot be viewed in isolation. It must include issues related to environmental and social standards. Not as a protectionist measure to create trade barriers—but to provide the necessary balance to the process of globalization and economic interdependence. This is the challenge we must face. Therefore, Denmark warmly welcomes the International Labour Organization's proposals on globalization. In this regard, we also welcome the participation of the World Trade Organization. Denmark wants to see the new round of World Trade Organization negotiations become one leg of "global trade." The other leg is the United Nations Conference on Financial Development for Sustainable Development. Against the backdrop of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, we should see our work within the World Trade Organization here. An important factor in achieving sustainable development is promoting the transfer of environmentally friendly technologies to developing members. Denmark supports special and differential treatment for environmentally friendly products and technologies. Using various eco-labels can be a means to promote this thinking. Therefore, the World Trade Organization needs to work on establishing a clear relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and the rules of the World Trade Organization. We also call for more precise conditions to be set for the use of the precautionary principle. Furthermore, clarifying the relationship between special and differential measures and the non-discrimination rules of the World Trade Organization also needs to be addressed. We hope to see progress in this area during the new round of negotiations. Another goal of the World Trade Organization is transparency. We need openness in trade policy matters. This applies to the World Trade Organization as an institution and also to its members. By increasing transparency and further participating in trade policy matters, we will achieve great gains. In this context, I would like to reiterate the proposal to establish a consultative parliamentary group. At this meeting, we welcomed some new members to the World Trade Organization. The decision of the negotiations to admit new members and regions to the World Trade Organization— including China—is an important step forward. I also extend our warmest welcome to these new members and regions. I hope to see negotiations involving more applicant countries, including Russia, conclude as soon as possible. At the end, I would like to repeat my sincere hope: that this Ministerial Conference will yield the fruits that the world is waiting for. We must demonstrate responsibility and leadership to achieve this goal. Of course, the WTO cannot cover the entire breadth of the broad topic of "development." The WTO is only related to trade, and we must respect this fact. At the same time, we also know that this applies to other international organizations as well (including labor and environmental organizations). Only through coordinated interorganizational development and cooperation can we ensure that trade-related and development-related goals are achieved in sync. Pope John Paul II reminds us: "Economy is only one aspect, one part of human activity." "Economic freedom is only one element of human composition." We hope this Ministerial Conference will become a driving force for trade policies that can truly promote comprehensive development for all families.
●"We support negotiations aimed at strengthening the contribution of competition policy to international trade and development. To this end, a framework should be negotiated to address the following issues: core principles, including transparency, non-discrimination, and procedural fairness; provisions on cartels; voluntary cooperation methods; and capacity-building support for developing members to gradually strengthen competition institutions. During the negotiations, full consideration should be given to developing and least-developed participating members, as well as providing them with appropriate flexibility. Whether during the negotiations or as part of the agreement to be negotiated, we commit to ensuring appropriate arrangements to regulate technical assistance and support capacity-building."
●"The Trade and Competition Policy Committee will further focus on analytical work based on members' proposals. The report of this work will be submitted to the Fifth Ministerial Conference."
An Overview of the Main Scope of the New Trade Negotiations The Ministerial Declaration of the Doha Ministerial Conference identified the scope of negotiations needed. The task of the Trade Negotiations Committee is to implement the provisions on negotiations in the Declaration. Based on the agenda of the Trade Negotiations Committee meeting, the main areas of negotiation will be as follows:
1. Negotiations on Agriculture: Substantially improving market access for agricultural products; reducing all forms of export subsidies with the aim of eventually phasing them out; substantially cutting trade-distorting domestic support; providing special and differential treatment for developing members, taking into account their effective development needs (including food security and agricultural development).
2. Negotiations on Trade in Services: Using the "Guidelines and Procedures" adopted on March 28, 2001, as the basis for further negotiations, with the aim of achieving the objectives set out in the Preamble, Article 4, and Article 19 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
3. Negotiations on Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products: Reducing or progressively eliminating tariffs, including tariff peaks, high tariffs, and tariff escalation, as well as non-tariff barriers, particularly those that benefit developing members' exports. The scope of products should be broad rather than selective.
4. Negotiations on Establishing a Multilateral System for Geographical Indications: Establishing a multilateral system for notifications and registrations of geographical indications for wine and spirits; issues related to the level of protection for geographical indications of products other than wine and spirits; reviewing the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity; the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore; and other new issues raised by members.
5. Negotiations on World Trade Organization Rules: Mainly involving anti-dumping rules, anti-subsidy rules, rules on trade-distorting practices, fisheries subsidies rules, rules and procedures for applying regional trade agreements, and the development of regional trade agreements.
6. Negotiations on Improving and Clarifying the Dispute Settlement Understanding;
7. Negotiations on Trade and Environment: The applicability of existing WTO rules to the parties to multilateral environmental agreements, the reduction or elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers on goods and services related to environmental protection, and assistance and capacity-building for developing members.
8. Negotiations on Addressing Outstanding Implementation Issues;
9. Negotiations on Special and Differential Treatment: Making special and differential treatment more precise, effective, and actionable; and the agenda for the negotiations.
The Schedule of Negotiations The schedule for the various negotiations is set out in the "Organization and Management of the Work Program" section of the Doha Ministerial Conference Declaration and was reaffirmed at this meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee. The specific arrangements are as follows:
1. Negotiations on the Dispute Settlement Understanding: Deadline by May 2003.
2. Negotiations on Geographical Indications Registration: Deadline by the Fifth Ministerial Conference (2003 in Mexico).
3. Pre-negotiation Review: Fifth Ministerial Conference (2003 in Mexico).
4. Deadlines for Other Negotiations: January 1, 2005.
5. Resolutions on the Approval and Implementation of Negotiation Outcomes: A special Ministerial Conference to be called to decide (specific date not yet set). In addition, the Trade Negotiations Committee will meet every two or three months to negotiate and arrange matters.
Conclusion With the establishment of the Trade Negotiations Committee, we can say that the long-awaited negotiations of the World Trade Organization have now been fully launched. From the scope of negotiations to be conducted, the main issue is how to implement and enforce the existing WTO rules. The scope covered by this issue is indeed vast and complex, and from the schedule set for the negotiations, we must also admit that the time is and the task is arduous. For the new negotiations of the World Trade Organization that members have high hopes for, whether they can be completed as scheduled and achieve the expected goals, we can only wait with close attention and patience.