outcomes of wto ministerial conferences

8/2/2019 Outcomes of Wto Ministerial Conferences

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OUTCOMES OF WTOMINISTERIAL CONFERENCES

BY-



CONTENT

• SINGAPORE 1996

• GENEVA 1998

• SEATTLE 1999

• DOHA 2001

• CANCUN 2003

• HONGKONG 2005

• GENEVA 2008

• GENEVA 2009



HONG KONG13TH DEC 2005

1. EXPORT COMPETITION

• The agreed decision to set 2013 as the date for the final elimination of allexport subsidies is undoubtedly the most concrete result of this SixthMinisterial Conference.

• Eliminate concealed elements of subsidization with respect to export credits,export credit guarantees or insurance programmes with repayment period of180 days or less which represent unfair competition.

• Agreed upon consolidation of disciplines that will ensure the elimination of all

elements of subsidies that food aid operations could conceal by 2013.• Promote a more conducive climate so that state trading enterprises open

themselves up to competition and their operations fall in line with marketpractices by 2013.



2. DOMESTIC SUPPORT

Noteworthy among the results of the Sixth WTO MinisterialConference was the decision whereby there would be three bands forreductions in Final Bound Total AMS and in the overall cut in tradedistorting domestic support, with higher linear cuts in higher bands. Inconcrete terms this means that the European Union would be in thetop band, the United States and Japan would be in the middle

band and all other Members, including all the developing countries,would be in the bottom band.



3. MARKET ACCESS

Developed countries and developing countries that declarethemselves to be in a position to do so – would grant duty-

free and quota-free market access for at least 97% ofproducts originating from LDCs, defined at the tariff linerate by 2008



2. MARKET ACCESS

Members agreed to negotiations to reduce, or as appropriate,eliminate tariffs on non-agricultural products without a priori

exclusions as to product coverage. Discussion became bogged downin regard to the handling of export subsidies for agricultural products,which were part of the Built-In Agenda. Members finally committedthemselves to negotiations aimed at “reductions of, with a view to

phasing out, all forms of export subsidies” without prejudicing the

results of the negotiations.



3. DISCUSSION ON KEY ISSUES

• Anti-Dumping Rules

The United States compromised its hard-line policy in agreement to

address anti-dumping and subsidy negotiations in the MinisterialDeclaration.

• Investment Rule

A standoff continued between Japan, the EU, the Republic of Korea,

Switzerland along with other countries supporting investment rulenegotiations and India, ASEAN, Africa and other countries opposed to

such negotiations. Members, however, managed to adopt a MinisterialDeclaration which referred to launching negotiations in this area at theFifth Ministerial Conference on the basis of a decision on modalities ofnegotiation.



• TRIPS Agreement and Public Healthmember countries are still committed under the TRIPS Agreement,TRIPS does not and should not prevent member governments fromacting to protect public health. It was affirmed, for example, that crisissituations caused by AIDS or other diseases constitute nationalemergencies, for which governments may exercise their right tocompulsory licensing.

• EnvironmentIn the area of trade and environment, disagreement continued between the

EC and European countries, which sought clarification negotiations on the

relevant treaties, and the US and the developing countries, which rejectedsuch negotiations. It was finally decided in the Ministerial Declaration thatnegotiations would be conducted only on the relationship between existingWTO rules, which is based on the principle of promoting free trade, andspecific trade obligations in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)such as the Kyoto Protocol, and only by member nations party to MEA

outcomes of wto ministerial conferences

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