Sept. 10, 2003
CANCUN -- The fifth ministerial of the World Trade Organization formally opened in Cancun this morning (Sept. 10) as ministers agreed to create five working groups that will attempt to reconcile the outstanding issues in the draft declaration.
They cover the Singapore issues, agriculture, development, industrial market access, and miscellaneous outstanding questions, such as a registry for wines and spirits with geographical names, as well as services deadlines, according to sources.
Under the organization of work, which is expected to be announced later today, the Singapore issues of investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement will be dealt with in one group under the chairmanship of Canadian trade minister Pierre Pettigrew. Initially, the finance minister of Argentina had been under consideration for this slot, according to informed sources.
The agriculture working group, where a group of 21 developing countries is demanding major changes in the draft declaration, will be headed by Singapore trade minister George Yeo. Industrial market access will be chaired by Hong Kong and the development group, which will cover special and differential treatment as well as demands for better implementation of existing trade agreements, will be headed by Kenyan minister Mukhisao Kituyi. The miscellaneous group will be headed by Clement Rohee of Guyana.
This informal work was on-going as the ministerial opened its formal sessions with a speech by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, the director general of the WTO.Toronto Star:
