Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference

The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference will be held from 30 November to 2 December 2009. The Conference is taking place four years after the last Ministerial Conference in 2005, where the emphasis will be on transparency and open discussion. The general theme for the discussion shall be “The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment”. The Conference provides an opportunity to look at some systemic issues in the WTO with a view to strengthening the multilateral trading system.

In the pursuance of its intention in General Council Meeting held on 26th May, 2009, on 2nd July, 2009, India submitted a set of five proposals to General Council which are intended to enhance the usefulness of WTO and to make the system more relevant, vibrant and user friendly for both the member states and the larger trading community. India considered these proposals important from the perspective of improving the functioning and efficiency of WTO as a rule-based system.

1. Trade Information System based on Member Notifications: there is a significant gap in the information available on non-tariff measures (NTMs). The WTO took a step in the right direction when it implemented the Integrated Data Base (IDB) covering tariff (applied and bound) and trade data (partner-wise) which are electronically available at the national tariff line level. This has proved to be of immense assistance in formulating not just negotiating positions but also for various research activities. It is time that NTMs are integrated with the IDB in a common format and for similar use. For the trade operatives, the proposal is to create a comprehensive information system that provides at the national tariff line level the tariff and non-tariff measures imposed by any member. This kind of a system will grant member regimes a level of transparency that is not presently available from any source would be an invaluable improvement to the present situation. It will enhance the cooperation with the related multilateral agencies and provide technical assistance to developing and least developed countries.

2. Revitalize WTO Committees: for the better functioning and to improve the utility of the various committees, India has proposed some suggestions to be adopted – a) monitoring the recent developments in the member states on trade disciplines covered by the respective committee; b) a general discussion on the current practices and the recent developments on the trade disciplines of the concerned committees and also to include the outside experts in these discussions; c) to enable the committees to discuss and offer possible solutions to specific trade concerns of the members; and, d) the frequency of the meetings of committees should be increased.


3. WTO’s Engagement with RTAs: the ministers of the member states must issues directives collectively to for monitoring the developing trends in RTAs and their relationship with the WTO. There must be non-binding best practices guidelines for reference while negotiating new RTAs. There should be an effective transparency mechanism. The Secretariat should publish an annual review of the working of RTAs.

4. Omnibus Legal Instrument for Preferential Market Access to LDCs: it has been proposed to establish a ‘steering group’ or a subsidiary body under the General Council to comprehensively examine all WTO related instruments allowing members to grant preferences to LDCs. Following such examination, members to consider; propose and adopt a single instrument that would address all forms of preferential market access for LDCs.

5. Reaffirm primacy of International Standards and Standard Setting for WTO Obligations: Statement from Ministers in the Conference outcome document, reaffirming the provisions relating to the need to adopt international standards in respect of sanitary, phyto-sanitary and technical barriers to trade, stressing the need for members to primarily base domestic regulations on such international standards for all trade in goods. Encourage increased participation in international standard setting activities.

On 15 October 2009, following text from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong China, European Communities, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, United States and Uruguay, was circulated at the request of the Delegation of India for the inclusion in the outcome document of the 7th Ministerial Conference:

"The rapid change in the global economic environment requires the WTO to be agile and responsive in order to preserve its central role in the global trading system. With a view to maintaining the effective functioning of the rules based multilateral trading system, the WTO needs to periodically engage in a process of review of its functioning, efficiency and transparency and consider systemic improvements, as appropriate. Ministers have invited the General Council therefore, to establish an appropriate deliberative process to review the organization’s functioning, efficiency and transparency and consider possible improvements, while bearing in mind the high priority we attach to the successful conclusion of the DDA negotiations. We look forward to reviewing the progress in this regard in our next meeting."

Contributed by: Manish Sharma, LL.M. II year, NALSAR, Hyderabad.
Email: msharma28@gmail.com