Trade ministers agree to launch new round
A Trade Negotiations Committee has been formed to supervise
the overall conduct of negotiations, reports Noor Mohammad
Doha (Qatar), November 15  http://www.tehelka.com/channels/currentaffairs/2001/nov/15/ca111501noor.htm

World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade ministers agreed on Wednesday (November 14) to launch a new round of trade talks concerning areas like industrial tariffs, investment, competition, environment, trade facilitation, government procurement and implementation. A Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) has been formed to supervise the overall conduct of negotiations. The committee will hold its first meet before January 31 next year.

The five-day WTO Ministerial extended into the sixth day as Members failed to reach a consensus on an agenda by the end of the official deadline. Major stumbling blocks were European Union (EU) agriculture export subsidies and market opening for textiles in quota countries. After 16 hours of consultations, members finally succeeded in breaking the impasse.

The agreement on adequate flexibility for countries on interpretation and implementation of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in a way supportive of public health was a turning point at the Doha meet. This sent positives vibes to developing countries on the launch of a new trade round. Public health concern under TRIPS was on top of the agenda for developing countries.

Under the new agreement, governments will have the flexibility to grant compulsory licences for domestic production of patented drugs without obtaining approval from patent holders under circumstances of health crises. Governments will have the freedom to determine what constitutes a health crisis. Governments will also be free to establish their own regime for exhaustion of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Exhaustion of intellectual property right means once a patented product is sold in the market, the patent holder ceases to have any patent right over that product. In other words, a patented drug can be imported without any violation of patent rights to meet public health concerns.

While the new provisions will help countries fight killer pandemics like HIV/AIDS and malaria, they will open up new opportunities for countries like India in the generic drugs market. These provisions will keep drug prices from rising in domestic market.

Agriculture
The Ministerial declaration commits WTO members to phase out agriculture export subsidies. EU farm export subsidies was the most contentious issue at Doha. It was clinched at the end paving the way for a new round of trade negotiations. France was particularly unyielding on abolishing farm export subsidies. The farmers' lobby is very strong in France and elections are just six months away.

The good news for developing countries is that they can now extend subsidies under food security and rural development programmes without fear of any countervailing action by their trade partners. Subsidy granted under these programmes will also not be counted in Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS) calculations.

Industrial Tariffs
WTO members have agreed to launch a comprehensive negotiation on tariff cuts. No product or sector will be excluded from negotiations. Since India has one of the highest tariff rates in the world, it will have to give away the most under the industrial tariff negotiations. India can, however, target tariff peaks and tariff escalation in developed countries. Although average industrial rates are quite low in developed countries, tariff peaks and escalation products of export interest to India like textiles, leather products and footwear are very high and restrict market access. India can push for elimination of such tariff peaks in the upcoming industrial tariff negotiations.

Anti-dumping measures and subsidies
Antidumping provisions will be further tightened to prevent their abuse. Back-to-back anti-dumping actions on exports from developing countries in the US and EU markets will be under scrutiny.

Developing countries with a per capita Gross National Product (GNP) of less than $1000 are allowed to grant export subsidies under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). If that country's GNP exceeds the $1000 level, it is deprived of that benefit. Under new provisions, any such country will again be included in the special list if its GNP falls below $1000 level.

The Ministerial declaration also commits members to negotiations on investment, competition, environment, government procurement and trade facilitation. The outcome of negotiations on competition and investment will, however, not be legally binding on developing countries as they have the choice to opt out of negotiations. The environment programme is also very modest compared to what the EU has been pushing for. Rules have to be negotiated on trade facilitation and government procurement, but they are not major issues for India.

Countries have also restrained from adopting arbitrary Rules of Origin (RA). They will have to notify any change in the RA to the WTO well ahead of implementation. The new discipline will help India's textile exports to the US and EU.

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WTO Agrees to New Round of Talks
Business Day (Johannesburg)
November 15, 2001
Paul Hannon And Matthew Newman

DOHA After six days of tough bargaining, the 142 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally agreed yesterday to launch a new round of multilateral trade talks, which they hope will help boost economic growth around the world.

A plenary session of trade ministers approved an agenda for the negotiations, expected to be wrapped up by January 1 2005 and ease restrictions on the crossborder flow of goods and services.

The WTO estimates that, if all barriers to trade were removed, the world economy would be enriched by about $1,9-trillion, the equivalent of adding two Chinas to the global financial network.

The agreement did not come easy as delegations clung to entrenched national positions until the last minute.

The trade talks will focus on lowering tariffs on a wide range of industrial and agricultural goods and services, clarifying the antidumping rules and reducing red tape at customs offices.

On the sixth day of what was scheduled as a five-day meeting, India backed down on its demand that quotas for developing country exports be increased.

The decision to launch a new round also followed agreement on a declaration assuring developing countries that access to medicines for combating public health crises would not be undermined by rules protecting rights of intellectual property.

There was also a breakthrough on agriculture, with the European Union (EU) accepting a text calling for the phasing out of export subsidies, but including a provision that it does this "without prejudging the outcome of negotiations". The US which had opposed talks on antidumping rules agreed to "(talks) aimed at clarifying and improving disciplines" on rules that allow countries to take antidumping actions "while preserving the basic concepts and effectiveness" of the rules.

The EU, one of the strongest backers of including new areas of discussion, secured the inclusion of environmental issues. Developing countries fear such talks will lead to new forms of "green" protectionism.