Inside US Trade | September 15, 2003
CANCUN -- Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, the chairman of the World Trade Organization's fifth ministerial, defended his decision to bring the conference to a close when he did following criticism from WTO members that he had done so prematurely.
In a press conference following the collapse of the conference, Derbez rejected the idea that he had made a hasty decision, saying his reading of the situation was that members could not reach a consensus on a pending compromise on the Singapore issues. That compromise foresaw negotiations only on trade facilitation, leaving behind investment, competition and transparency in government procurement.
The decision to close the ministerial took the European Union by surprise, European sources said. The EU had been expecting the negotiations to continue well into the night and likely spill into the afternoon of Sept. 15, a day after the scheduled conclusion date, these sources said.
In absence of a Singapore issues compromise, the EU had expected a cooling off period with negotiators switching their focus to the agriculture section of the text, one European source said. After that discussion, members could have returned to the Singapore issues in a renewed effort.
But as a result of Derbez's decision to halt the negotiations in the early afternoon, countries never discussed the agriculture text of the Sept. 13 Cancun draft declaration in a green room session.
Derbez told reporters that he decided to focus on first resolving the fight over the Singapore issues following a Sept. 13 heads of delegation meeting where it became very clear that area was the most pressing matter facing negotiators.
Following a two-hour adjournment, countries reconvened the green room session at 1:30pm where in short order it was apparent that no consensus existed on the compromise, Derbez said. Given this scenario, Derbez said his decision was not rash but rather rational.Inside US Trade:
