WTO to prioritize Doha Round negotiations

Members of World Trade Organization (WTO) have reiterated the importance of concluding the issues arising from the Doha Round that began 14 years ago.

Speaking at the plenary session on Thursday morning at the 10^th WTO Ministerial Conference at the Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC), Guinea’s Trade Minister Marc Yombouno noted that agriculture remains an issue that is very important to Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

“We want agriculture to be given first priority,” said Yombouno. “We want the WTO to come up with a declaration proposing solutions for issues during this Ministerial Conference.”

Yombouno urged members to commit themselves to negotiating the issues that were already at the table before starting on new ones.

“Guinea wishes that the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is finalized,” said Yombouno. “We have a single opportunity for developing countries to be included in multilateral trading. We want the guarantee of a multilateral trading system that is open, fair and predictable.”

Hungary expressed frustration over the slow pace in concluding pending issues on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

“We have not achieved success in core issues yet the economy has changed in the last two decades. WTO is missing the opportunity to respond to new economical challenges,” said Hungary.

“Solving the uncertainties on the DDA depends on the commitment on each of our delegates. The LDCs are depending on the DDA programme, how is it impossible to understand the needs of some members of our organization?” posed Congo.

Benin’s Minister of Trade Affo Idrissou Safiou expressed hope that the Ministerial Conference will lead to the adoption of issues in priority of needs.

“Cotton is a way of survival for a number of economies, we want this issue to be dealt with,” said Safiou. “Our country has great expectations. Trade will combat poverty and enhance economies.”

Agriculture is one of the most important and politically sensitive issues on the WTO negotiating agenda.

Under the current WTO rules, only 16 WTO members are allowed to subsidize exports of certain agricultural products.

WTO members discussed the trade policies in the cotton sector that may have contributed to falling prices and shifting market shares, when they met on 26th and 27th November.

African cotton-producing countries welcomed the increased disbursement of financial assistance and called for swift reforms in cotton trade policies.

On Wednesday, members of the Cotton Four or C4, who include Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Benin, said they will not discuss any fresh issues until the ones raised at the Doha Round Table on cotton are addressed.

“What we want are sustainable solutions to the cotton in the market,” Mali’s Ambassador Traore Ami Diallo said.  “It is important to comply with existing rules, that is why we continue to speak against massive subsidies. The issues at stake remain the same; we want to save our cotton sector and create jobs. We want a fairly more competitive market.”

Progress in negotiations of the Doha round stalled after the breakdown of the July 2008 negotiations over disagreements concerning agriculture, industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers, services, and trade remedies.