Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
September 21 2011, IPU Headquarters, Geneva
24th Session of the Steering Committee
Summary of Discussions with WTO Deputy Director-General Valentine Sendanyoye
Rugwabiza
Mrs. Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza, Deputy
Director-General of the WTO, appeared before Members of the Steering Committee
to discuss recent developments at the WTO. She made a presentation and answered
questions from the members.
Mrs. Rugwabia first gave an overview of
the current economic situation. As the world moved from a financial crisis to a
growth crisis, global trade has been negatively affected. While global trade
grew by 14.5% in 2010, trade growth in 2011 is projected to be rather limited.
Although protectionist measures have been contained in 2009 and 2010, there are
currently a lot of pressures on governments to take a more protectionist
approach.
With respect to the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA), Mrs. Rugwabia mentioned that a lot of things have been achieved
in the past 10 years but that the current negotiation round is now at an
impasse. The world has seen a lot of transformations, new members have joined
the WTO, the economic power has shifted, and the world agenda has evolved as
global issues have emerged (energy, food security, climate change, exchange
rate). All of these changes have had an impact on the Multilateral Trading
System (MTS). The WTO membership is somewhat split between those, who would
like to move to 21th century issues, and those, who believe we cannot move on
those issues if the DDA has not been dealt with. Some members fear to divert
attention into new issues whereas movement is not guaranteed on the DDA front.
Furthermore, DDA issues such as agricultural subsidies will not disappear. It
has not been decided yet if those new issues will be addressed at the next
ministerial conference, but some countries have started to act. For example,
Brazil asked the WTO’s Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance, to take a look
at the impact of currency exchange rates on international trade.
Members recognize that if the
rule-making part (the DDA round of negotiations) of the WTO was to be
paralyzed, it would have an impact on the whole system. The WTO is more than
the DDA, it is also about rule enforcement, and accountability. Members agree
on the need for a way out of the impasse. At the next ministerial conference is
December, ministers will have to talk about new approaches and provide guidance
on how to move on the negotiation front. The Chair of the General Council is
consulting members on the organization; members have put forward a number of
issues including DDA. Some members are already looking for a pragmatic approach
to adopt what is already mature and pose little problem at the table (such as
trade facilitation). They are looking for flexibility in negotiating procedure
and may review the principle of the single undertaking. The ministerial
conference also has a mandate to review key elements of the organization.
Mrs. Rugwabia recognized that the media
coverage about the DDA is rather negative, and that most news outlet would
characterised it as “dead.” There is a need to find new ways to improve
communication. It was said that members have not been very good at
communicating to their population the stake of the negotiations, but it is
ultimately their role since people trust their government more than the WTO
administration. The WTO outreach activities are targeting parliamentarians and
government officials rather than the general population.
Regarding a question on bilateral or
plurilateral free trade agreements (FTA), Mrs. Rugwabia indicated that the
WTO monitors FTA through a mandate included in WTO agreements, and that
countries must notify agreements with a factual presentation. There is a
possibility that members would strengthen the monitoring system with an
analytical rather than a factual presentation. She mentioned a WTO report on
bilateral agreements and its relations to the MTS. FTAs are not driven by
tariff reduction but rather by new regulations setting or regulation
harmonization. There is currently a “spaghetti ball” of regulations that is
impeding trade. One problem with this approach is that it excludes members with
least developed regulatory systems.
Mrs. Rugwabia briefly touched upon the
negotiations on the accession of Russia to the WTO. Russia remains the largest
economy outside the WTO membership. Negotiations have accelerated, and Russia
accession could be dealt with at the next ministerial conference.
Responding to a question about the significance
of gender in trade issues Mrs. Rugwabia indicated that agreements are
negotiated in a gender neutral way. The gender dimension, however, is not
reflected in negotiations, but it is reflected in some members’ position and
trade policies.