South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has called on Trade Ministers and experts at the 9th World Trade Organisation’s Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia, to recommit themselves to the Doha Development Agenda.
He reminded the Ministerial Conference that the Doha Round was launched with an explicit commitment to place the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of its work programme and that its development mandate still remains valid today.
Minister Davies mentioned that South Africa was concerned that the “LDC-plus” approach that was the original basis for launching work on the early harvest has been inverted and replaced by a “Trade Facilitation-plus” approach.
According to him, South Africa has been concerned that the Members of the World Trade Organisation have not been able to establish an adequate balance between the three pillars that have made up the Bali Package, namely Development and LDC issues; Agricultural issues; and Trade Facilitation.
“The LDC pillar remains weak, again postponing the legitimate demands of the poorest countries with uncertain promises of delivery in the future. The Agriculture pillar contains nothing more than best endeavour on the critical issues of export subsidies and an “opt out” clause for an important member on the issue of tariff rate quotas.
The proposed Trade Facilitation text is expansive and contains many new obligations for most developing countries, which will disproportionately bear the burden of implementation. There is also no certainty that the capacity building and assistance that would be necessary for implementation would be forthcoming”, said Davies.
The Minister highlighted that there is a critical need to find a meaningful and permanent solution to address the food security needs of poor people in developing countries.
India's Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma said that his country could not accept the current proposal on food security, since it could endanger India’s efforts to subsidise food. He said that agriculture sustains millions of subsistence farmers in India and their interests must be secured. Outside the venue, demonstrators also called for the removal of WTO obstacles to food security.
Minister Davies added that securing an appropriate balance in the outcome of the negotiations is fundamental to the sustainability of the multilateral trading system and future of the WTO.
“For this reason, South Africa proposes that this Ministerial Conference focus its efforts not just on concluding the so-called Bali Package, but also on providing political guidance on the development of a post-Bali work programme. This programme should prioritise turning the best endeavour undertakings that we have in the draft package on LDC issues and Agriculture into effective, time-bound programmes of delivery. We should also reaffirm that the fundamental principle of special and differential treatment in favour of developing countries” stated Davies.
Minister Davies concluded by saying that a balanced outcome on this early harvest Package would be an essential basis for re-starting negotiations under the wider Doha Round that places development at the centre of the process.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 079 492 1774
Tel: 012 394 1650
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Twitter: @the_dti
