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Press
Release..............................
UNESCAP News Services
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16 June
2003
Press Release: G/06/2003
Doha Development Agenda under threat
Bangkok (UN Information Services) -- The Doha
trade initiative, designed to protect the interests of developing
countries in international trade, is at the risk of collapse,
according to speakers at a United Nations trade policy meeting
in Bangkok last week.
The meeting, called the High-level
Regional Policy Dialogue on the WTO Negotiating Agenda in Preparation
for Cancun (10-12 June), was collectively organized by the
United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP), the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Guests, including senior representatives from
Asia-Pacific governments and the business sector, were asked
to discuss ways to proactively promote the interests of developing
countries in the multilateral trading system.
But some speakers argued the ability of developing
countries to negotiate on an equal footing with first world
countries was severely impaired by the lack of progress made
by the Doha
Development Agenda.
The Agenda, first launched in November 2001, aims
to establish a more equitable approach to international trade
for developing and least developed countries (LDC) by negotiating
pro-LDC trade deals, including in the areas of agriculture,
non-agricultural goods, and the environment. These negotiations
are scheduled for completion by the 1st of January 2005.
But speakers at the UN meeting said a series of
missed deadlines are threatening to derail the Doha Development
Agenda and undermine the global trade negotiating power of developing
countries.
"Negotiations are at serious risk of collapsing,"
said Mr. Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP. "
Missed deadlines erode confidence and the credibility of the
negotiating process… (but) If there is movement on sufficient
scale and speed, the negotiations can be salvaged," he
said.
Most recently, deadlines relating to third world
access to affordable generic medicines, market access for non-agricultural
goods and reform of the dispute settlement system passed without
adequate resolution.
Mr. Kim said the Asia-Pacific region stands to
lose considerable economic investment in the long term if the
Doha negotiations are not steered back on track immediately.
" Let us look at some World Bank estimates:
If Doha negotiations conclude by 1 January 2005, with substantial
liberalization taking place, developing countries could experience
a real income gain of US$ 83 billion or a 1 per cent increase
in their real incomes, while developed countries would achieve
a real income increase of US$ 67 billion or 0.3 per cent. If
the negotiations collapse with backsliding on virtually every
commitment, developing countries will see real income reduced
by US$ 32 billion, while developed countries will experience
a decline of US $27 billion," he said.
Mr. Jose-Antonio Buencamino, the Chairman of the
High-level Regional Policy Dialogue, stressed the need for regional
trading partnerships, especially in the field of agriculture,
as a means of achieving real economic and social growth.
" By World Bank estimates, income gains for
developing countries to the extent of $400 billion by 2015 could
be achieved if the Doha mandate of removing distortions on agriculture
is achieved," he said.
" For the UNESCAP region, given that three
quarters of the region's poorest live in rural areas, progress
in agriculture lies at the heart of giving the Doha negotiations
a tangible development related outcome."
The High-level Regional Policy Dialogue on the
WTO Negotiating Agenda was a preparatory meeting ahead of the
5th
Ministerial Conference to be held in Cancún, Mexico
in September. The dialogue was organized to review key issues
of concern in the Cancún preparatory process, common
problems and propose ways to facilitate WTO accession for UNESCAP
members. The meeting is part of UNESCAP's ongoing programme
of technical assistance on WTO agreements.
For more information, please contact: Mr. David
Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Services, UNESCAP,
United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200,
Thailand, Tel: (66) 02 288 1864-9, Fax: (66) 02 288 1052, E-mail:
unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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