Director-General cites concerns with pace of negotiations as chairs report on state of play
In her opening remarks as chair of the TNC, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged she had heard from several members about the need to generate greater momentum in the WTO's negotiating work post MC14. She stressed that the negotiating function remains essential alongside ongoing WTO reform efforts.
"We all recognize that, since MC14, the overall pace of negotiating activity has been relatively modest," DG Okonjo-Iweala said. "Today's meeting therefore provides an opportunity for all heads of delegation to exchange views on where we stand and, importantly, on how we can advance our negotiating work."
Reports from chairs of negotiating bodies
The chairs of five negotiating bodies established by the TNC reported to members on the latest developments in their respective negotiations.
Reporting in his capacity as the chair of the negotiations on additional provisions for the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, Ambassador Leslie Ramsammy (Guyana) said discussions at a first round of "Fish Week" negotiations the previous week as well as bilateral consultations the chair held with 24 members and groups of members made him "cautiously optimistic that we are moving towards a viable path forward."
Ambassador Ramsammy said he was encouraged by the sense of urgency members continue to attach to these negotiations as well as the strong momentum among the membership to return to text-based negotiations as soon as possible. While the question remains on what basis those negotiations should resume, no member suggested that discussions should start from scratch or that the substantial body of work developed over many years should be discarded, he said.
More information on the fisheries subsidies negotiations is available here.
Reporting in his capacity as chair of the agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan) reported on the most recent meeting of the negotiating group, which took place on 23 September. At that meeting, most members reaffirmed that agriculture remains a core priority but that views continued to diverge on whether and how the negotiations should prioritize issues that have been the subject of previous decisions, he reported.
Ambassador Hussain said he was encouraged by the constructive engagement of members as reflected in the numerous concrete suggestions put forward on possible ways to advance the negotiations. Further negotiations will take place on 27 October and 23 November, he added.
More information on the agriculture negotiations is available here.
Reporting in his capacity as the chair of the negotiations on services, Ambassador Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid (Nigeria) said recent discussions focused on a proposal by a group of members to examine progress made in services commitments under regional trade agreements. Further discussions would be needed to converge on the way forward, with certain members having reservations about such discussions, he added.
Ambassador Abdulhamid noted that the negotiating group is tasked with carrying out the built-in mandate in the General Agreement on Trade in Services in a manner similar to the negotiating group on agriculture, but that it has proved more difficult to generate discussions in services than in agriculture. He expressed hope that members could agree to work towards building an agenda that reflects all key areas of interest and said he remained available to discuss with all delegations that want to explore work in this area.
More information on the services negotiations is available here.
Speaking on behalf of Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan (Djibouti), chair of the negotiations on trade and development, Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang said Ambassador Hassan was pleased to report that members have fulfilled their commitment under the Decision on Enhancing the Precise, Effective and Operational Implementation of Special and Differential Treatment Provisions of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreements adopted at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) last March. This is a significant achievement, underscoring the importance of cross-collaboration between the negotiating group on trade and development and relevant technical committees to foster a shared understanding amongst members of the issues at hand, the chair reported.
As for the seven remaining Agreement-Specific Proposals from the G-90 group of developing and least developed members, the chair reported that work will depend on how members and the G-90 decide to take this forward. The chair encouraged the G-90 to continue engaging with other members towards finding practical approaches to address the remaining issues on the table.
Reporting in his capacity as the chair of the negotiations on a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications (GIs) for wines and spirits, Ambassador Alfredo Suescum (Panama) said he has continued informal engagement with interested GI stakeholders. These exchanges suggest a changing mood among them, with some who initially had limited awareness of the negotiations now showing growing interest in exploring how a multilateral GI register could be useful in today's context, he said.
While these discussions remain exploratory, some stakeholders are working among themselves to consolidate their ideas and identify possible avenues for moving forward, Ambassador Suescum said. They recognize that any initiative at the WTO would require engagement with the relevant authorities and WTO delegations. At this stage, no concrete proposals have emerged, he noted.
More information on the negotiations on the multilateral GI register is available here.
Reaction from members and DG
Forty WTO members, some speaking on behalf of groups of members, took the floor after the chairs spoke. The interventions outlined members' positions and addressed specific concerns in each of the areas under negotiation.
More generally, members underscored the importance of inclusiveness, consensus and balanced outcomes in the negotiations. Several delegations expressed concern about overlaps between meetings on WTO reform and the negotiating sessions, particularly for smaller delegations.
Many, including the Director-General, said the reform talks and the negotiations reinforced each other, and should proceed simultaneously.
In her concluding remarks, the Director-General urged members to consider what negotiations truly entail and to move beyond rigid positions by showing greater flexibility.
"Please, people should not put down their position and then walk away and say, if you don't do it the way I want, then I'm not going to move," she said. "If we continue that way, then I don't know why we are all here."
"I'm not walking away from this room discouraged," she added. "I want you to know that I'm walking away saying we have work to do . we will not take impasse as a yes. We have to move, and we have to move expeditiously."
About the Trade Negotiations Committee
The Trade Negotiations Committee supervises the overall conduct of WTO members' trade negotiations under the authority of the General Council. Consisting of all WTO members and observer governments, the TNC meets whenever necessary to discuss progress in the negotiations. The TNC is chaired by the Director-General. More information is available here.
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