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Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
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26 Nov, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Confirmed, it's an urgent informal meeting of the WTO General Council at 9.30 (in about 14 minutes) to discuss the deteriorating health situation, travel restrctions and possible alternative arrangements for the Ministerial Conference
The official Swiss announcement is now available in French, German, Italian but not yet English. Buttons to switch language at the top right

bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/da…
Bloomberg is reporting that the in-person Ministerial Conference is postponed. I'm waiting for confirmation
Confirmed. Announcement coming soon

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More from @CoppetainPU

Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
24 Nov
THIS SUNDAY—ANOTHER 🇨🇭 vote

4th of the year. 3 issues:

1. Covid-19 law (referendum)
2. Better pay and conditions for nurses (initiative)
3. Federal judges to be chosen by drawing lots (initiative)

The Swiss broadcaster’s final opinion poll is out

1/8 swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-cert…
1. The vote on the Covid law is a proper 🇨🇭 #referendum (law or constitutional change referred to a public vote)

This is the 2nd vote on the law. The first was in June

It’s about a range of powers but the Covid certificate is the focus of attention

2/8 swissinfo.ch/eng/fate-of-co…
What is a 🇨🇭 referendum?

A nationwide vote called to challenge legislation already approved by parliament:

• if 50,000 signatures collected within 100-day deadline
• mandatory for constitutional amendments or major international agreements.

3/8 swissinfo.ch/eng/direct-dem…
Read 8 tweets
Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
23 Nov
I sat on this for a day before publishing.

The letter from 86 NGOs misrepresents what’s happening in the WTO so badly that perhaps it’s better to just ignore it.

But it is sponsored by some big names (@amnesty, @Oxfam) and is attracting attention.

1/5 tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2021/11/23/ngo…
What did the letter get wrong?

Apart from the absurd hyperbole:

1. The two strands of WTO work on trade and the pandemic are not mutually exclusive. The letter says ditch one in favour of the other. That’s not what most developing countries want

2/5 tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2021/11/23/ngo…
2. Those 2 strands (compiling views on trade issues; waiving intellectual property rules) are not equivalent

One is about compiling views (easier). The other is rule-making, affecting legal rights and obligations (much more difficult)

3/5 tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2021/11/23/ngo…
Read 5 tweets
Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
21 Nov
We can tell the tension's rising when weird stories like this appear

Fact: 🇳🇿 Amb David Walker has been working on trade and COVID-19 issues but *not* on the #TRIPSwaiver

Why? Because that is done in the TRIPS Council by chair 🇳🇴 Amb Dagfinn Sørli

1/3 thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/…
This ⬇️ is the latest on the intellectual property (TRIPS) waiver in the TRIPS Council

WTO members are deadlocked on the waiver. No consensus in sight

So the question is: if agreement on this is not possible, should all other work be blocked too?

2/3 wto.org/english/news_e…
More specifically should all other WTO work on COVID-19 and trade, for the Ministerial Conference, be blocked?

The latest from the General Council on these issues: wto.org/english/news_e…

The decision to set up the Walker discussions: wto.org/english/news_e…

3/3
Read 4 tweets
Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
19 Nov
WTO AGRICULTURE NEGOTIATIONS

A bit behind on this one. But despite lots of meetings nothing much seems to have changed.

Info from trade sources:

Chair @GloriaAbrahamP told ambassadors on Monday she will circulate a revised draft (first: July 29)

1/8 tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2021/07/30/agr…
She said huge gaps remain on several issues:

1. Trade-distorting domestic support—go for a numerical target or try to agree on words; a timetable for reducing the support; special treatment for developing countries.

Forget market access.

Draft: tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2-domestic-sup…

2/8
2. Improving information shared among the membership (notifications)—eg, on shipments en route; notifying export restrictions in advance.

This is seen as something that could be delivered at the Ministerial Conference, but differences remain.

Draft: tradebetablog.wordpress.com/9-transparency…

3/8
Read 8 tweets
Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
16 Nov
Oh dear. Trade geekery needs an upgrade 😉

A whopping 86% of you GOT THIS WRONG!

The correct answer is … 154

That’s all 164 @wto members EXCEPT the 10 that have not ratified the agreement.

Why? Does it matter?

Maybe.

Cc: @craigaatkinson @maheenhassan3 @AllieRenison

1/11
The #TradeFacilitationAgreement is multilateral, the whole WTO membership (164) agreeing by consensus.

But to add it in the WTO’s rule book, WTO members had to insert it in the package of agreements—by amending Annex 1 of the WTO Agreement.

2/11 wto.org/english/docs_e…
So rules on amendments apply—WTO Agreement, Art.10, Par.3:

“Amendments … shall take effect for the Members that have accepted them upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members and thereafter for each other Member upon acceptance by it.”

3/11 wto.org/english/docs_e…
Read 12 tweets
Peter Ungphakorn Profile picture
12 Nov
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…
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…
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
Read 7 tweets

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