1 THE DOHA MANDATES ON DEVELOPMENT ISSUES UNCTAD Commercial Diplomacy Programme October 2002 UNCTAD

2 The scope of the Doha agenda the traditional trade agenda: MARKET ACCESS MARKET ACCESS (border measures) Agriculture Services Non-agric market access Rules (dumping, subsidies, regionalism) the expanded trade agenda: DOMESTIC POLICIES (within the border measures) TRIPS (health, GIs) Trade and environment Singapore issues (investment,competition, gvt. procurement, trade facilitation) Debt and finance, transfer of technology Cross-cutting mandates : Implementation issues (incl. textiles) Technical assistance LDCs and small economies Special and differential treatment UNCTAD

3 The “single undertaking” means that, at the end of the Doha process:  A complex package of various commitments various commitments has to be agreed has to be agreed as a whole as a wholeand  Developing countries need to achieve a new balance of to achieve a new balance of rights and obligations with a rights and obligations with a strong development dimension strong development dimension UNCTAD Cross-cutting Border measures Withintheborder

4 The Doha Work Programme will be a concrete “Development Agenda” for developing countries IF : On Implementation issues:On Implementation issues: satisfactory solutions are found, for example: –On the implementation of the agreement on textiles; –On the implementation of the TRIPS and Health Declaration. On Special and differential treatment (S&D)On Special and differential treatment (S&D): provisions are made effective and operational, for example : –In helping the participation of developing countries in trade in services; –In making TRIPS an instrument to transfer technology. UNCTAD

5 The Doha process will be a concrete “development agenda” for developing countries IF : On agriculture:On agriculture: new rules accommodate both developing competitive exporters and net food importing countries. On services:On services: the new liberalization takes into account the requests made by developing countries in their priority sectors. On non-agriculture productsOn non-agriculture products: barriers for the main exports of developing countries are eliminated, taking into account the erosion of preferential regimes. UNCTAD

6 The state of play of the Doha process : The main work done so far concentrates on: Special and differential treatmentSpecial and differential treatment = no consensus Implementation issuesImplementation issues = fragmentation in several negotiating bodies, poor results AgricultureAgriculture = negotiations on “modalities” ongoing (on reduction of domestic support, market access barriers, and export competition), many divergent positions ServicesServices = requests and offers process ongoing TRIPSTRIPS: no consensus Market accessMarket access = negotiations on modalities just starting The process is getting into the nitty-grittyThe process is getting into the nitty-gritty No real progress in any issueNo real progress in any issue Increasing participation and proposals of developing countriesIncreasing participation and proposals of developing countries UNCTAD

7 Some deadlines to assess the development content of the process:  by December 2002: –Stocktaking in agriculture and services –Chairman’s modalities on agriculture –S&D = make recommendations to the General Council –Review of technical assistance –Implementation issues –Mini-ministerial in Australia (14-15 Nov.)  by December 2002: –Stocktaking in agriculture and services –Chairman’s modalities on agriculture –S&D = make recommendations to the General Council –Review of technical assistance –Implementation issues –Mini-ministerial in Australia (14-15 Nov.)  by March 2003: –Agriculture: start negotiations? –Offers on services to be submitted –Many implementation issues to be settled  by March 2003: –Agriculture: start negotiations? –Offers on services to be submitted –Many implementation issues to be settled by Sept.2003 :  by Sept.2003 : 5 th Ministerial Conference (Cancun) = “mid-term review” UNCTAD

8 The development content of the trade agenda means: Providedeveloping countries with means to take advantage of the trade liberalisation That requires: 1.Market access 2.Balanced trade rules 3.Negotiating and institutional capacity 4.Supply capacity 1 and 2 can be negotiated at the WTO; 3 means technical assistance and capacity building provided by the WTO and other agencies (UNCTAD); 4 is essential to take full benefit of the trade opportunities arising from the negotiations : role of development agencies and financial institutions

9 Factors with direct implications for the negotiations United StatesUnited States Trade Promotion Authority Act, the Farm Bill, and the pending WTO disputes (steel, orange juice…) European Union’sEuropean Union’s Common Agriculture Policy: no reductions in domestic support until 2007 Regional processes:Regional processes: ACP/EU, FTAA, APEC, subregional schemes among developing countries… and bilateral FTAs.

10 UNCTAD: Only UN entity having a mandate to review developments and issues in the multilateral trading system and trade negotiations since the Tokyo Round from developing countries’ perspective; Trade and Development Board has a regular agenda item: “Review of developments and issues in post-Doha of particular concern to developing countries” which is forwarded to UN GA under the item “trade and development”; UNCTAD Post-Doha Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Programme (demand-driven). UNCTAD