18 days until the WTO Ministerial Conference starts, a slew of new/revised drafts have arrived.
1. TRANSPARENCY IN ROUTINE WTO WORK—notifications and discussion in the committees.
A proposed General Council decision but it comes under “WTO reform”
1/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
1. TRANSPARENCY IN ROUTINE WTO WORK—notifications and discussion in the committees.
A proposed General Council decision but it comes under “WTO reform”
1/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
The proposal: improve transparency to help the system work better
New—Iceland, Paraguay now in; minor changes
Consensus seems unlikely for now. China, India, most developing countries are not on board, many complaining they are already over-burdened
2/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
New—Iceland, Paraguay now in; minor changes
Consensus seems unlikely for now. China, India, most developing countries are not on board, many complaining they are already over-burdened
2/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
If ministers agree to set up a working group to look at #WTOreform, then this would be part of the discussion.
The EU has proposed setting one up.
USTR @AmbassadorTai has called for discussions at the ministerial conference and after
3/7 insidetrade.com/share/172631
The EU has proposed setting one up.
USTR @AmbassadorTai has called for discussions at the ministerial conference and after
3/7 insidetrade.com/share/172631
2. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES (SPS)—food safety and animal/plant health
A group of countries—now adding Ukraine—is proposing a ministerial declaration on “responding to modern SPS challenges”.
Much of this is uncontroversial, but …
4/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
A group of countries—now adding Ukraine—is proposing a ministerial declaration on “responding to modern SPS challenges”.
Much of this is uncontroversial, but …
4/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
… Notably absent—EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, UK.
Why? Perhaps this bit ⬇️ about “science” often used as an attack on the Europeans’ “precaution-first” approach. Think hormones in beef, ractopamine in meat, etc
China, India, etc, also absent
5/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
Why? Perhaps this bit ⬇️ about “science” often used as an attack on the Europeans’ “precaution-first” approach. Think hormones in beef, ractopamine in meat, etc
China, India, etc, also absent
5/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
3. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE—repeating previous declarations, to continue working, while electronic transmissions (downloads, streaming) would stay duty-free.
Not to be confused with separate talks on digital trade among a sub-set of WTO members.
6/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
Not to be confused with separate talks on digital trade among a sub-set of WTO members.
6/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
4. TRADE FACILITATION—a proposed ministerial decision on “deep and robust implementation” of the WTO agreement, including “further disciplines and flexibilities” to deal with future crises.
From: Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Uruguay, US
7/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
From: Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Uruguay, US
7/7 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…
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