Japan Economic Newswire
The second and effectively the final draft of a declaration to be adopted at a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha, Qatar, in November again calls for the WTO's new trade round to begin talks on antidumping measures. The world trade body's fourth ministerial conference is aimed at kick-starting a series of negotiations to further liberalize the global trading system. If agreements are reached, they will serve as a set of new binding rules for the 142-member organization in the early years of 21st century. The nine-page draft reiterates, as stipulated in the first draft of the declaration circulated late September, that antidumping negotiation would be aimed at 'clarifying and improving disciplines' on existing antidumping agreements. 'In the initial phase of the negotiations, participants will indicate the provisions that they seek to clarify and improve,' according to the draft distributed to all WTO members by WTO General Council Chairman Stuart Harbinson. On trade and investment, and trade and competition policy, which Japan had strongly been seeking, work on the 'modalities of negotiations' will continue, according to the draft. The draft stated that a decision would be taken on modalities of negotiations at the fifth session of the ministerial conference slated for 2003, reflecting the reality that coordination among member states is necessary. The draft also opens a way for countries hesitant to participate in the talks to 'opt in' to or 'opt out' of the negotiations. Core elements to be discussed during the two-year work period include 'the question of participation,' the draft says. While Japan has been advocating negotiations on trade and investment, many countries including Malaysia and Indonesia have been opposed to the idea, claiming that the countries will lose policy flexibility in bringing in foreign investments. On agricultural trade, an area in which Japan is being pressed to further open up its market, the draft stipulates 'comprehensive talks aimed at substantial improvements in market access, reductions of, with a view of phasing out, all forms of export subsidies, and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.' Separate from the agricultural issue, the draft also stipulates that members shall aim to 'clarify and improve WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies,' which would press the Japanese government to respond. Talks on trade and environment, as strongly sought by the European Union (EU), will continue on labeling environmentally friendly products and the relation between WTO rules and multilateral environment agreements, according to the draft. The 'desirability of the negotiations' on the issue of trade and the environment will be decided at the fifth session of the ministerial conference, according to the draft. The first draft did not contain the word 'negotiation,' and EU delegates did not hide their dissatisfaction. It was not clear whether the possibility of future negotiation would be acceptable to the 15-member organization. Trade sources fear the trade and environment issue could be a potential 'deal breaker' at Doha. Other contentious issues include agriculture, a special declaration on intellectual property and AIDS treatment drugs, an agreement on implementing the existing WTO agreements, and antidumping. The United States, which has imposed a series of antidumping tariffs on steel imports from Japan and other countries, is hesitant to start a negotiation on antidumping measures. On Sunday, Harbinson presented a total of three documents, including the second draft, to member states. The other two are a draft declaration on access to essential drugs including AIDS drugs, and a draft agreement on implementation issue. The declaration on access to drugs has also been contentious, with Brazil and South Africa insisting that member countries should not be strictly confined to a WTO agreement on intellectual property when pursuing their public health policies. The U.S., Japan and Switzerland, which need to protect the interests of pharmaceutical companies, stress the importance of keeping the existing agreement intact, claiming that new drugs need a huge investment in research and development. A Japanese government source positively assessed the second draft as a whole, saying, 'It has increased items expressing consideration toward developing countries, and efforts trying to reflect the positions of each country to the utmost can be seen.':
