DG's Efforts to Boost Trade Talks

A proposed decision by World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to establish a formal process under the Committee on Agriculture Special Session (CoA SS) to jumpstart agriculture negotiations has caused unease among several members and raised questions about the integrity of the process, according to people familiar with the developments.

Members are working to understand the implications of formalizing the process and appointing facilitators, given that meetings of the Doha negotiating body on agriculture are conventionally held informally. The CoA SS refers to the Doha agriculture negotiating body, which operates under the overarching mandate of the Doha Trade Negotiations Committee.