By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, May 8 (IPS) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was finally able to overcome a difference of opinion that got in the way of the agricultural committee's normal operations: it named Peruvian negotiator Jorge Voto-Bernales president of this strategic negotiating arena.
The WTO general council decided that Voto-Bernales would take over the negotiations process begun in January on agricultural agreement reforms, which are to introduce the same rules for open markets that are in effect in other areas of trade.
The council also resolved that Japan's Yoichi Suzuki, in his role as vice-president, would lead the remaining functions of the agricultural committee.
The naming of the agricultural committee's authorities had been delayed by the group of countries with protectionist agricultural policies - primarily the European Union (EU), Japan, Norway and Switzerland -, which had blocked the candidacy of Brazil's WTO delegate, Celso Amorim, for president of the committee.
The veto against Amorim reflects the deep division in interests separating the Group of Cairns (whose member countries have few if any agricultural subsidies) and the bloc led by the EU, which defends government assistance for agricultural production and export.
In the end, the differences were resolved "in a positive way," according to a source close to the Group of Cairns. "But we hope that what occurred - the veto against Amorim because his country is part of Cairns - does not set a precedent."
The role of Voto-Bernales will primarily be to preside over the special sessions of the committee dedicated to negotiations on an agricultural accord. But his role will be somewhat limited because the committee, which will meet again in late June, has already approved the agenda for the rest of the year.
The first efforts of negotiation proposals will be made known in March 2001. But negotiators estimate that talks will remain at an impasse until the end of 2002 or the beginning of 2003.
In that time, several events are likely to have an impact on the development of the agricultural negotiations. One of the most important will be the 2002 general elections in France, the European country that is most outspoken in defence of protectionism.
A few months after the French elections, the EU is to decide on admitting new members from among candidates whose economies are based on agriculture. The potential new members will likely expect to benefit from the same regimen of state subsidies the current bloc of 15 nations enjoys.
At about that that time, portions of the existing agricultural accords will expire, such as the so-called "peace clause," which currently bans legal action against countries that violate agricultural subsidy rules.
In addition to the announcement of the new leaders for the agricultural committee and other divisions of the organisation, the WTO director general reported Monday on the progress made in measures towards re-establishing world confidence in the international trade system.
The WTO's image was severely damaged following the turbulent sessions of its third Ministerial Conference, Nov. 30 through Dec. 3, 1999, in the US city of Seattle, Washington.
Non-governmental organisations and unions opposed to the free trade measures promoted by the WTO brought the Seattle meeting to a halt, sending the trade ministers home without any kind of agreement.
As part of its efforts to rebuild its image, the WTO decided to hold special sessions of its general council next month in order to study the difficult problem of implementing several pending measures, which are among the principal demands of developing countries.
As far as assistance from industrialised countries for the poorest 48 nations, WTO director general Michael Moore admitted that the measures announced so far are a modest contribution.
The industrialised world "can and should do more to improve access to markets" for the poorest countries, Moore said.:
