World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is circulating responses to questions raised by members on the proposal to appoint facilitator to help push forward long-stalled agriculture negotiations.
In her cover letter sent to members late yesterday along with the revised answers, seen by your correspondent, the DG said “we would like to underscore that this process is aimed at assisting Members to return – as soon as possible –to a fruitful sustentative negotiation progress and to break the current logjam that has prevented Members from achieving concrete outcomes since 2015.”
The joint letter sent by the DG and the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiating body, otherwise known as the Committee on Agriculture-Special Session, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye, says “we hope that all Members will give this process a chance, given that the current impasse in the COA Special Session and its Dedicated Sessions does not serve any Member’s interest.”
Ambassador Acarsoy said on Monday, during the informal Head of Delegations meeting, that “there is no progress during the past two years in the negotiations.”
It remains unclear how the new “way-forward” which is being pushed by the DG without the consensus of allmembers will change the dynamic in the agriculture negotiations, said people who asked not to be quoted.
The DG circulated a two-page revised “responses to main questions raised by members on the way forward in the agriculture negotiations” to members.
Following are the questions and answers:
Answer: The process is meant to facilitate the work of the CoASS. It will respect the existing mandates (with aqualification that “the mandates stemming from the Agreement on Agriculture and relevant Decisions and Declarations can be found on: http://www.WTO.org/english/tratop e/agrice/negotie.htm ).
Answer: A similar facilitator-led track would be put in place for cross-cutting issues, covering notably food security, sustainability and transparency.
Answer: The process should be regarded as a “pre-negotiation” phase to iron out issues standing in the way of negotiations. Its purpose would be to facilitate engagement among Members on the different topics under negotiations in a focused and interactive manner with a view to articulating a pathway forward and helping to rebuild trust.
This could include holding topic-by-topic thematic sessions, thus laying the groundwork for further progress andengagement in a text-based negotiations in the CoA-SS and its dedicated sessions.
Some topic-by-topic thematic sessions, held by a pre-announced schedule, could also take place during the CoA-SS and its dedicated sessions. Members may also consider the possibility for periodic engagement of Senior Officials to address the most sensitive issues.
Answer: The role of facilitators would be to facilitate discussions within the Working Group under their responsibility with a view to making progress in the negotiations. In the interest of transparency, the facilitators wouldreport periodically to the CoA-SS and dedicated sessions meetings. The whole process would remain under the responsibility and supervision of the Co-ASS chair.
Regarding the selection of facilitators, the chair would invite all delegations to the propose delegates for consideration for appointment. Once nominations are received, the Co-ASS chair will consult with the Members with a viewto agreeing on a slate of names as facilitators. As a general rule, it is envisaged to appoint two facilitators overseeing as appropriate the following:
Answer: The discussions groups would be open to all interested members to ensure inclusiveness. In addition,facilitators would provide regular reports on their activities to the CoA-SS and meetings of the Dedicated Sessions on PSH and SSM to ensure transparency.
Answer: Working Groups’ meetings would be organized in a sequenced manner to avoid overlap, also taking intoaccount, as far as possible, other WTO meetings. Working Groups would be organized in a hybrid format if Members so request to ensure broad participation, including by capital-based officials.
The frequency of meetings will be decided by the facilitators in consultation with Members and the CoA-SS Chair. It would take into account the specificity of each topic, including past mandates and previous work undertaken, while ensuring balance across the board.
7. How would the WTO Secretariat support the process?
Answer: The WTO Secretariat would provide logistical support to the facilitators, including room bookings and preparing papers upon request. It would also be willing upon request to organize seminars to give Members an opportunity tolisten to and exchange with external high-level experts on topics of interest.
Many developing and least-developed countries have voiced opposition to the facilitator-led process, expressing concern over the questions and revised answers on grounds they undermine the sanctity of the mandates and go against the mandate of the Doha trade negotiations committee, said several people who asked not to be quoted.
At a time when the current TNC is operating under the Doha mandate, which has not been dismantled by any of the previous ministerial meetings, it appears inappropriate and inconsistent to start the facilitator-process with a new mandate under Article 20 of he Agreement on Agriculture, said people familiar with the discussions.
Consequently, the DG’s facilitator-process is apparently going to create a new mandate by discarding the previous ministerial mandates on PSH, SSM, and Cotton, said people familiar with the discussions.
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