Samoa at critical world trade talks

Deputy Prime Minister, Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo is in Bali, Indonesia, this week that will either save long troubled trade talks– or be the meeting that “kills off” future success.

Fonotoe, the Minister responsible for Trade Negotiations, is leading Samoa’s delegation to the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) attended by the WTO’s 159 member governments.

Opened last night by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the meeting is being dubbed as the one “to decide the fate of the World Trade Organization.”

According to well-informed sources inside the negotiations, there are two possible outcomes.

First, the Ministers could agree on a global trade agreement, the first since the WTO was created in 1995.

The second outcome could be a “failure that kills off the Doha round of trade talks and casts the WTO into obsolescence.”

Fonotoe says the WTO is critical to Samoa and all other countries of the world.

Speaking in Ethiopia last week as the President-in-Office of the ACP Council of Ministers, the deputy Prime Minister said WTO is one of the critical institutions outside the UN whose decisions affect all of our people in one way or another.

The impact of decisions it makes range from “small sugar producers in Swaziland, cotton farmers in Senegal, tourist operators in Jamaica and Samoa or indeed dairy farmers in France.”

In reference to the meeting in Bali this week, Fonotoe says the gathering is to “inject fresh impetus into the Doha Development Agenda.”

“For the ACP States the goal is once again, to emphasise the importance of securing a balanced and meaningful outcome in areas under negotiation,” Fonotoe says.

“We would like the international community to avoid the pitfalls that befell previous WTO Ministerial Conferences.”

“We are convinced that major trading nations must move beyond rhetoric and the passive ideals of a rules-based trading system and truly commit to achieving a successful outcome in Bali, with a clear commitment to a post-Bali work programme that places development at its core.”

“This is the only way for member States to retain faith in the system and for the WTO to remain relevant and useful to its member states, in particular developing countries.”

The Chair of the Meeting and Indonesia’s Trade Minister, Gita Wirjawan agrees.

“We, the Chair and Vice Chairs of the World Trade Organization’s Ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9), are convinced that agreement on the Bali package at the 9th Ministerial Conference is an essential step for growth, trade and development,” he says.

“We believe that with the right political engagement, Members can make the necessary compromises to conclude the Bali Package.”

“All of the remaining difficulties can be overcome with sufficient political will. The landing zones are reachable. Trade negotiations are never easy but we recognize that substantial progress has been made in the past few months.”

“We urge all WTO members to come together over the next few days to make the necessary breakthroughs, working closely with WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo.”

In a letter to the journalists invited to the meeting – including the Samoa Observer - the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo calls for political will to achieve a successful “Bali package.”

“The coming days may well shape the future of the WTO and the global trading system. At this stage the outcome of the meeting is very much in question,” he says. “The Bali package offers a huge amount, but the issues involved can be complicated, even for the experts.”

According to Mr. Azevedo, the key issues this week includes:

• Measures on “Trade Facilitation” to streamline customs procedures and minimize unnecessary border delays, delivering jobs and opportunities in times of unemployment and slow growth. These simple steps are estimated to be worth up to $1 trillion per year for the global economy. The package would also deliver technical assistance in this area to support the better integration of developing and leastdeveloped countries (LDCs) into the global economy. The concept of technical assistance to support developing countries and LDCs to implement WTO agreements is new and potentially very significant.
• Specific measures to support the LDCs, such as: improvements in duty-free-quota-free market access schemes; simplified and more accessible rules of origin for their exports; improved market access for the services sector: and a renewed push for negotiations on cotton.
• A mechanism for the review and strengthening of special and differential treatment provisions (which are vital for developing countries and LDCs) in all WTO agreements.
• Some very significant agricultural issues which would: set us on track for a reform of export subsidies and measures of similar effect; provide for a better implementation of tariff rate quota commitments; and provide a temporary shelter for food security programs while also putting in place negotiations that would address concerns regarding the sustainability of legitimate food security and food aid programs.

“A successful meeting would therefore bring significant gains,” says the WTO Director.

“Conversely, a setback would have profoundly negative consequences. It would sacrifice all this and it would compromise the ability of the WTO to negotiate future agreements.”

“It's no secret that governments have been exploring other channels for liberalizing trade. These are positive initiatives, but they offer no substitute for global agreements and global rules.”

“Regional or plurilateral agreements by definition are exclusive and the countries most often excluded from these pacts are the poorest and weakest. If we fail in Bali we would not just be failing the business community, we would also be failing the most vulnerable among us.”

“As many of you are aware, we have been working very hard in Geneva to close gaps between countries and find common ground.

Hundreds of hours of work in meetings involving all WTO Members brought us very close to success, but were not able to cross the finish line. At the General Council on 26 November I listened very closely to the Membership and what I heard was encouraging. Virtually all WTO Members said we have come too far and worked too hard to let the package fail. I heard many suggestions and I have given consideration to them all.”

“What struck me most however, was the passion that was shown by all sides. The LDC Group, the African Group and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group were unequivocal in that we should not let a potential deal, one that offers real development opportunities now and in the future, wither and die.”

“These are countries for which the WTO represents the best chance at integration into the global economy. But the developed countries were just as positive and just as vocal. It is clear that this package is not about developed versus developing countries – it is about all countries working together for mutual benefit.”

“In recent days, Members have been working hard to find solutions and I have been engaging with Ministers to discuss the best way forward. Again, I have heard a strong desire to keep going. I think there is wide acknowledgement that traditional negotiating routes cannot take us any further.”

“The remaining gaps that separate the different positions are bridgeable. Nothing that is on the table requires any Member to go beyond what is doable. If ministers want a deal, it is quite possible. What we need is political will.”

“There is much to do and only days in which to do it. The challenge before Members is considerable, let us hope they rise to it.”