From GATT to WTO

From a provisional agreement to an Organisation:

Havana Charter GATT (1 January 1948 31 December 1995) 23 Contracting Parties 123

8 Rounds of Negotiations
WTO (1 January 1995)

WTO: What is it?

An international Organization:
Organization created by the Marrakesh Agreement Sui generis organisation (independent from the United Nation system) Replaces the GATT (created in 1947)

WTO: What is its purpose?

WTO Objectives:
Raising standards of living
Ensuring full employment Ensuring growth of real income and demand Expanding production and trade Sustainable development Protection of the environment
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WTO: How does it work?

Set of rules
The negotiated legal rules included in the various WTO agreements cover the following topics:
Trade in Goods Trade in Services Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights Dispute Settlement Trade Policy Reviews
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Marrakesh Agreement
Annex 1 Annex 1A
Agreement on Trade in Goods
General Interpretative Note GATT 1994 - 6 Understandings (on the interpretation of various GATT provisions) - Marrakesh Protocol to the GATT 1994 + Schedules of Tariff Concessions Specific Agreements (11)

Annex 1B Annex 1C

Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

Schedules of specific commitments MFN exemptions

Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) ! Refer also to pertinent Convention on Intellectual Property Rights (WIPO)
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Marrakesh Agreement
Annex 2 Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes Annex 3 Trade Policy Review Mechanism Annex 4 Plurilateral Trade Agreements Decisions and Declarations adopted at Marrakesh

Decisions and Declarations adopted afterwards (-> Evolving legal framework) Agreements hierarchy
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WTO: How does it work?

WTO Structure
Ministerial Conference TPRB General Council DSB Appellate Body Dispute Settlement Panels

Goods Council Committees

Services Council Committees

TRIPS Council

CTD (Development) CTE (Environment) CRTA (Regionalism) BOP Budget WG (Accessions,

DirectorGeneral Secretariat

Investment, competition, Government

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Doha Development Agenda

14 Nov. 2001: Doha Ministerial Declaration
Define the mandate for the negotiations on various topics as well as other work (implementation)

1 Feb. 2002: First TNC Meeting

Establish the structure and the main principles for the negotiation

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Doha Development Agenda

14 Nov. 2001: Doha Ministerial Declaration
Define the mandate for the negotiations on various topics as well as other work (implementation)
47. [...] the conduct, conclusion and entry into force of the outcome of the negotiations shall be treated as parts of a single undertaking. [...] (DDA, paragraph 47) Single undertaking: Nothing is agreed until
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Doha: Work Programme

Implementation (12) Agriculture (13-14) Services (15) Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products (16) TRIPS (17-19) Trade and Investment (20-22) Trade and Competition Policy (23-25) Transparency in Government Procurement (26) Trade Facilitation (27) WTO Rules (28-29) Dispute Settlement (30) Trade and Environment (31-32) Electronic Commerce (34) Small Economies (35) Trade, Debt and Finance (36) Trade and Transfer of Technology (37) Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building (38-41) Least-Developed Countries (42-43) Special and Differential Treatment (44)
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Doha Negotiations:
Negotiating groups meet during special General Council sessions of existing WTO bodies, at the Trade Negotiations Committee exception of (*) for Chairman: WTO DG (ex which new Negotiating officio) Groups have been Goods Services TRIPS Other Issues created. - Agriculture - NAMA (*) - Trade Facilitation (*) - Services Geographic al Indications

Structure

- Dispute Settlement
- Development - Environment - Rules (*)
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July Decision

Doha Development Agenda

14 Sep. 2003: Cancun Ministerial Statement
Mid-term review : Existence of important divergences and delays in relation with program established at Doha

Dec. 2003: General Council Decision Priority given to four issues:

Agriculture (modalities) Non agricultural Market Access [NAMA] (modalities) Singapore issues Cotton (initiative from 4 African countries)
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Doha Development Agenda

1 August 2004: Adoption of the July Package
Negotiations start again ( framework )

Singapore issues clarified (only trade facilitation included in Doha Round).

Cotton issue included in agricultural negotiations (Subcommittee)

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Doha Development Agenda

Dec. 2005: Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration
Limited Progress but in the right direction
Deadline for all agricultural export subsidies Agreement on cotton Duty-free/quota-free access for the 32 LDC Members Agriculture and NAMA: framework for full modalities Progress in relation with services negotiations
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Doha Development Agenda

June 2006: Decision on transparency for RTAs

July 2006: Negotiations suspended December 2006: General Council Decision on transparency for RTAs February 2007: DG: We have resumed negotiations fully across the board

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Doha Development Agenda

April 2008: DG signals start of horizontal process May 2008: Services Chair issues report and draft text

Since July 2007: Draft texts, and revisions, on modalities for Agriculture and NAMA circulated by the chairmen (2008...2009...2010)
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Doha Development Agenda

March 2010: We are not where we wanted to be by now Informal consultations (regional groups, small groups in variable geometry and with individual Members) Members committed to the mandate of the Round and to its successful conclusion.
Value of the system (e.g. global economic crisis- MTS has prevented a descent into full scale protectionism.

Sense of frustration at the slow pace of the negotiations, but there is a clear catalogue of gaps
Picture is more blurred is regarding the size of some of these gaps (Blue Box in agriculture or in Trade Facilitation). Size of gaps much less clear in NAMA or Fishery Subsidies.

Next steps: mix of technical and political preparations to start devising the contours of a package
Need to build on what is already on the table (Chairs' texts), avoid backtracking, and maintaining the development dimension of the Round.

A "cocktail" approach: Chair-led processes within the Negotiating Groups, maintaining an overview of the entire negotiating landscape (transparency and inclusiveness), and smaller groups in variable geometry and bilateral contacts remain necessary and essential moving towards a more horizontal view of the issues (negotiating groups and the TNC remaining the anchor of the negotiating process) Ministerial involvement: make productive use of up-coming gatherings (e.g. Cairns Group, APEC and OECD) , possible Ministerial engagement if needed

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