Dispute and little consensus: WTO ministerial conference extended
Created: 06/15/2022, 13:17
The ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva has been extended by one day in view of the threat of failure.
© Martial Trezzini/KEYSTONE/dpa
The fronts are quite tough: India turns out to be the spokesman for the developing countries and torpedoes consensus on draft treaties.
But the WTO boss is not letting up.
Geneva - The ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been extended by one day in view of the threat of failure.
The ministers would now continue their deliberations on Thursday, the WTO reported on Wednesday in Geneva.
The negotiations on important trade agreements, such as corona patents or harmful fishing subsidies, had stalled after a promising start at the beginning of the week, according to participants.
164 member countries
"The time for the conclusion of meaningful agreements is running out," said WTO boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday evening.
Instead of accepting failure, she suggested extending the conference, which the negotiators finally agreed to.
Above all, India and at times Sri Lanka and Egypt opposed each other in some strands of the negotiations and initially prevented consensus.
In other rounds of negotiations, Britain announced reservations, it said.
Each of the 164 member countries can stop agreements because the organization has to decide everything unanimously.
"We are fighting on behalf of all developing countries, including the lowest-income countries," Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal said in connection with agricultural negotiations.
Rich countries have always tried to grant themselves large subsidies while denying poorer countries the opportunity for development.
With a planned agreement to end harmful fisheries subsidies, India is insisting on a 25-year transition period before poorer countries have to implement provisions.
aid to poorer countries
Also controversial was an agreement to temporarily suspend patents on corona vaccines so that more countries can start production.
There was also no agreement on extending the agreement not to levy tariffs on electronic transmissions.
Developed countries tend to be in favor, developing countries tend to be against.
There was also debate about how the WTO should tackle urgently needed reforms.
Even a declaration that the World Food Program (WFP), which supports starving people all over the world, would be exempt from export restrictions on its purchases, was not signed and sealed on Wednesday.
Representatives of civil society criticized all the draft treaties that were on the table.
Meaningful proposals had been severely watered down.
This hardly helps poorer countries.
Experts fear that the WTO, founded in 1995 to promote development with rules for free and fair trade, is sinking into insignificance.
Most recently, she managed to reach an agreement in 2013. It was about simplifying customs procedures.
dpa
