Suspicion, side shows and blame games shadow WTO 20 years on

It has been days of accusations and counter-accusations, and attempts to flaunt dangerous cards at the negotiation table, with members leaving it till late to declare their position on key issues.

This was the atmosphere that ruled the better part of the recently concluded World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Nairobi, which only helped cast doubts on the effectiveness of the 20-year-old organisation that swallows up Sh20.2 trillion a year in funding.

While opening the WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10), Director General Roberto Azevêdo admitted that negotiations have, most times, gone haywire, forcing members to resort to bilateral and regional trade initiatives.

“We have got close to success on many occasions before, and then, at the 11th hour, stepped back. I have seen this happen and I have always, every single time, regretted that we didn’t take that final step,” he said.

But he added that all is not lost, and urged members to learn from the successes of the 2013 Bali package, which contained a range of vital measures on agriculture, food security and development. It also had Trade Facilitation Agreements that, when implemented, could significantly cut global tariffs.

But the WTO’s shaky performance history, punctuated by members trying to sweep the Doha agenda under the carpet and serve fresh wine, has left countries turning back to their old cocoons in regional trading blocs.

For the past 14 years, the WTO has unsuccessfully attempted to conclude the Doha Round of Negotiations, also known as Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

The DDA aims to liberalise international trade, keeping in mind the interests of developing and least developed countries (LDCs). It was first fronted during on November 9-14, 2001 during talks in Qatar.

Divergent views

In 2008, DDA was almost a done deal until divergent views emerged on rules of trade in agriculture, with Brazil, Russia, India and China in the list of developing economies that want preferential treatment.

The stalemate contintued at Nairobi’s MC10, with US Trade Representative Michael Froman and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng calling off a joint press conference at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday. Mr Gao then flew back to China, leaving behind his deputy.

The Doha talks continue to draw passionate views, with Gao insisting the DDA must be implemented to reduce the glaring distortions in international trade.

“The Doha round is important; it is the development round, and development is the key to resolving the global issues we face today,” the Chinese minister said.

Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Luiz said concluding MC10 without an agreement on prohibiting agricultural subsidies and a package for LDCs would leave WTO facing serious credibility questions.

Echoing the Doha fever was President Uhuru Kenyatta who, in his opening remarks, said the success of MC10 would be critical to restoring the credibility of the WTO and multilateral trading system.

But countries like Australia warned that multilateral trade is headed to the rocks should members stick to thorny issues.

However, in the centre of this storm on what issues should continue to dominate global trade talks, on Thursday, members managed to pass the first major tariff-cutting deal since 1996.

The WTO’s members agreed to a landmark deal to eliminate tariffs on 201 information technology products valued at about $1.3 trillion (Sh133 trillion) per year.

Eliminate tariffs

The agreement is an expansion of the 1996 Information Technology Agreement and involves 82 members. It saw 54 of the largest countries that manufacture and trade in IT equipment, including the US and China, agree to eliminate tariffs from January 1 next year.

Kenya, which is a net importer of IT goods, is set to be a beneficiary of the reduced costs of equipment once it signs the International Technology Agreement.

WTO members also agreed not to tax electronic transmissions (such as M-Pesa) until the next meeting, and LDCs secured a 17-year extension on patents for pharmaceuticals.

But for as long as there are still pending pertinent issues, at least in the eyes of many developing countries, the next ministerial conference may see a recurrence of the Doha fever that shadowed the Nairobi meet and its victories.

Member countries carried large enough delegations to spill over to unofficial side sessions, with civil societies staging protests over rich nations’ influence in the WTO. Meetings have many times turned into platforms for developed and developing countries to pull in different directions.

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