Digest Content
- Trade and public health, fish subsidies and LDC concerns in General Council spotlight
- Working group on small business discusses roadmap to MC12 and explores new topics
- New booklet highlights key results of 2020 work on standards and regulations
- WTO opens online registration for 2021 Public Forum
Trade and public health, fish subsidies and LDC concerns in General Council spotlight
Ensuring access to essential medical goods during a pandemic, securing a global deal on prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies and addressing the concerns of “graduating” least developed countries were among the topics discussed at the 5-6 May meeting of the WTO’s General Council. Members also exchanged views on the WTO’s continuing work on electronic commerce and the legal status of the ongoing “joint initiatives” talks.
Following their discussions on the issue of intellectual property and access to essential COVID-19 medicines and medical equipment , WTO members turned to a proposed General Council Declaration on “Trade and Health: COVID-19 and beyond” endorsed by 20 delegations. The text calls for concrete actions to facilitate trade in essential medical goods and to enhance the capacity of the trading system to deal with a public health emergency. While members saw value in this initiative, some delegations questioned its scope as it mentions movement of goods but not movement of health professionals.
The General Council also considered a draft ministerial decision submitted by the WTO’s group of least-developed countries (LDCs) in December 2020 which aims at establishing a smooth transition mechanism for graduating LDCs. The proposed decision would allow graduating LDCs to benefit from support measures available to LDCs for a period of twelve years from the date of their graduation, including continued access to trade preferences for LDCs granted by preference-granting WTO members.
Members continued discussions of Brazil’s proposed Ministerial Decision entitled “Supporting the Conclusion of Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations for the Sustainability of the Ocean and Fishing Communities.” Brazil had circulated the draft Ministerial Decision after the General Council meeting on 22 December where members had remarked on the missed target to conclude fisheries subsidies negotiations by end-2020. The draft proposes that members commit to deliver “the highest standards of environmental sustainability” in a multilateral agreement on fisheries subsidies.
Since 1998, WTO members have periodically renewed the moratorium — a decision not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions — at each Ministerial Conference and have continued addressing e-commerce related issues in the Goods Council, the Services Council, the TRIPS Council and the Committee on Trade and Development. In December 2019, members renewed the moratorium until MC12 and decided to reinvigorate the Work Programme and dedicate the first part of 2020 for structured discussion on the issue.
India and South Africa — with Namibia as a new co-sponsor — once again presented their communication regarding the legal status of the joint initiatives and their negotiated outcomes. The joint initiatives refer to talks on e-commerce, investment facilitation, domestic regulation of services, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and two environmental initiatives that large groups of members are involved in. While the three said they do not question the right of members to meet and discuss any issue, when such discussions turned into negotiations and their outcomes were to be brought into the WTO, the fundamental rules of the WTO should be followed (Article IX and X of the Marrakesh Agreement on consensus).
Around 30 members took the floor to comment. Many of those participating in the joint initiatives said they did not agree with the arguments of India, South Africa and Namibia or said their concerns were premature given the talks were still ongoing. They also noted the large majority of WTO members participating in one or more of the initiatives. Others said they shared concerns that the joint initiatives have implications for the rights and obligations of all members, including those not participating in the discussions.
The full agenda of the General Council meeting is available here:
https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/GC/W821.pdf&Open=True
Working group on small business discusses roadmap to MC12 and explores new topics
At a meeting of the Informal Working Group on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), held on 4 May, WTO members discussed what the Group aims to deliver at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) and explored new topics to help small business benefit from international trade. The Group also looked at the implementation of the package of declarations and decisions adopted in December 2020.
Ambassador Cancela updated the Group on work undertaken by the WTO Secretariat to develop a database containing information on small business provided by WTO members as part of their Trade Policy Review process.
In the December 2020 package of declarations and decisions, the Group adopted a recommendation which calls on members to provide, on a voluntary basis, information on policies related to MSMEs during their Trade Policy Reviews. The aim is to enhance transparency and to share information on the number of MSMEs in the economy, their share in international trade, and programmes that help MSMEs trade.
The International Finance Corporation gave a presentation on the ways supply chain finance can benefit small traders. This was followed by a presentation by dLocal, a Uruguay e-payment company, on the growing use of digital payment technology for cross-border payments and the need to standardize these processes across borders. These two issues relate to the declaration on “Access to finance and cross-border payments”, which encourages members to exchange best practices.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development gave a presentation on the main aspects for governments to consider when developing innovation policies. The WTO Secretariat presented the key findings of the 2020 World Trade Report on “Government policies to promote innovation in the digital age”.
As a follow-up to the presentation by the Global Express Association at the February meeting of the Group, Australia presented its goods and services tax system and the way it can benefit small traders through trade facilitation at the border and lower trade costs. TechUK, a technology trade association, presented on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of MSMEs and the ways public-private partnerships can help these firms implement better cybersecurity.
New topics
A new issue presented by Ecuador was how government policies can be put in place to encourage innovation and reduce barriers that small business faces. Another new topic, proposed by Brazil, was how to help rural MSMEs introduce efficiencies to meet the international demand for their products.
New booklet highlights key results of 2020 work on standards and regulations
The WTO has launched a new booklet highlighting ten key results from the latest annual review of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. The booklet outlines how WTO members are implementing the Agreement.
The booklet focuses on members’ compliance with notification requirements under the TBT Agreement and the concerns raised in the TBT Committee, often in response to these notifications. Governments are required to “notify” other members, through the WTO Secretariat, of proposed measures that may have a significant effect on other members’ trade and that are not in accordance with relevant international standards.
Key results highlighted in the publication:
- Over 3,000 notifications are submitted annually.
- The number of notifications has increased by more than 11% each year.
- East Africa submitted 26% of notifications in 2020.
- Half of the WTO membership regularly submits notifications.
- A period of 56 days is allowed, on average, for members to comment on most notifications.
- Almost half of all notified regulations relate to protection of health.
- The WTO’s main tool to disseminate TBT notifications, ePing, has more than 12,000 users.
- Trade concerns raised by WTO members have grown by 26% per year, on average.
- A record number of new trade concerns — 57 — were raised in 2020.
- About one-third of WTO members took part in discussions on trade concerns in 2020.
The publication can be downloaded from the following link https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/tbt10keys2021_e.htm.
WTO opens online registration for 2021 Public Forum[4]
Online registration for the 2021 Public Forum is now open. The main theme for this year’s Forum, which will be held from 28 to 30 September, is “Trade beyond COVID-19: Building Resilience”.
The Forum’s subthemes are “Enhancing resilience beyond COVID-19”, “Strengthening the multilateral trading system” and “Collective action towards sustainable trade”. The online registration form can be accessed here:
https://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/public_forum21_e/pf21_reg_e.htm
In light of the uncertainties and restrictions related to COVID-19, the WTO will continue to monitor the situation to determine whether the Forum will be held virtually or in hybrid mode. Information on this will be shared in July.
Individuals wishing to attend the Forum must register online by 6 September 2021.
For more information on the theme and sub-themes, please visit the Public Forum webpage https://www.wto.org/pf21.
Background
The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest annual outreach event. It provides a unique platform for heads of states, parliamentarians, leading global business people, students, academics and non-governmental organizations to come together and debate on a wide range of WTO issues and on some of the major trade and development topics of the day. Over 1,500 participants attend the Forum each year.
Should you have further questions, please contact the Public Forum Team at: pf21@wto.org