| Communiqué Issued by ACP Ministers of Trade on the WTO Doha Round of negotiations ACP Ministers responsible for trade, at their Meeting in Brussels held from 8 th-9 th November 2007, assessed developments in the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements and the WTO Doha Round: Recalled the 85th ACP Council Resolution adopted in May 2007 on WTO Doha negotiations in which the Ministers reiterated “that the development dimension must be included in all aspects of the results of the Doha Round”; Further recalled that the Doha Declaration places development at the heart of the Work Programme and hence emphasised the need to ensure that developing countries including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) secure an increased share in the growth of world trade in light of the immense needs for their economic development; Expressed concern that to date, limited progress has been made to address the development dimension, in terms of ensuring that development is reflected in all areas of the Doha Work Programme; as well as in making Special and Differential Treatment more precise, effective and operational. Further expressed concern that no Agreement has been reached on outstanding implementation issues. Reiterated that a pro-development outcome must place at its core the specific needs and interests of developing countries. In this regard, emphasised that modalities to be agreed must be established in full and reflect the ACP Group’s interests and concerns. Expressed its continued commitment to contribute to the Round in a collective effort to achieve a development outcome. Called on all WTO members to be fully engaged in the negotiations by demonstrating the necessary political will to address the development concerns of developing countries, bearing in mind the principle of shared benefits but differentiated responsibilities; Reaffirmed the primacy of the multilateral process in the Doha Round of trade negotiations. In this regard, welcomed the resumption of multilateral negotiations in Geneva which respect the principles of transparency, inclusiveness and a bottom-up approach. Recalling that the outcome of the Doha Work Programme outcome shall be a “Single Undertaking,”, stressed that all issues of importance to Members must be considered in a balanced and equitable manner; Recognized that Agriculture and NAMA are key components of the Doha Round and that a development outcome in these two areas would greatly contribute to the overall success of the Round. Both areas are vital to addressing the socio-economic objectives of developing countries, that include poverty reduction, employment creation, food security and rural development. In Agriculture, a development outcome must be established through Special Products (SPs), Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Cotton, Commodities, Tariff Escalation, issues relating to Net Food Importing Developing Countries (NFIDCs), LDCs and SVEs;Acknowledged that the current draft modalities text on Agriculture has incorporated provisions providing flexibilities to Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) and ACP countries, including those with ceiling and homogenous low bindings. However, emphasized the need for an agreement on an overall average reduction in the tariff as proposed by ACP Members; Stressed the need to deal with the cotton issue both in its trade and development aspects, including the setting up of a mechanism to address the loss of revenue resulting from the decline in cotton prices on the world market; Noted with concern that the current Draft Modalities text on NAMA does not fully reflect the interests of the ACP Group with respect to less than full reciprocity in reduction commitments, flexibilities for SVEs and those SVEs and ACP countries covered in Paragraph 6 of Annex B of the July Framework and disciplines on NTBs. In order to achieve a pro-development outcome in NAMA these issues must be adequately reflected, with a view to supporting, inter alia, industrial development in ACP countries; Further noted with concern that modalities to address long standing preferences and preference erosion have yet to be finalised. Expressed readiness to join a consensus on modalities that effectively address this issue, through trade and non trade solutions in Agriculture in NAMA noting that failure to do so would impose a disproportionate share of the costs of reform on some of the poorest and most vulnerable Members of the WTO; Expressed the inability of the ACP Group to participate in discussions at the horizontal level before full modalities are developed in Agriculture and NAMA; Reiterated that progress in other areas such as Services, Rules, TRIPS and the Small Vulnerable Economies Work Programme is necessary to arrive at a balanced and equitable agreement fully reflecting the development dimension. The negotiations on Services should give special consideration to sectors and modes of supply of interest to ACP countries, maintain the current flexibilities of GATS and allow them to liberalize according to their individual levels of development. Rules negotiations should reflect ACP priorities and concerns in the areas of antidumping and subsidies including fisheries subsidies, as well as the developmental dimension of regional trading agreements (RTAs); Reiterated that technical assistance and capacity building are essential for the implementation of commitments undertaken by ACP Members in the WTO. Therefore, urged their developed country partners to fulfil their technical assistance and capacity building to developing and least developed countries on Doha and other WTO issues, with special emphasis on Trade Facilitation; Reaffirmed that Aid for Trade is not a substitute for the development objectives set by the Doha Work Programme and that it is not part of the Single Undertaking. Noted the importance, and therefore called on the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on Aid for Trade. Stressed that Aid for Trade should be additional, non-conditional, predictable, sustainable and effective. Noted the outcomes of the recent regional consultations held in Peru, Philippines and Tanzania in September 2007, aimed at identifying regional priorities. Emphasized that the forthcoming global review to be held in Geneva in November 2007 should lead to an expeditious implementation of the Aid for Trade initiative; Emphasized the importance of unity and solidarity among developing country members and the need for developing country members to continue working together at this critical stage of the negotiations, in order to secure a development oriented outcome of the Round; Supported the intensification of both political and technical collaboration among developing country groupings in the WTO, in particular among the ACP Group, G33, G20, the African Group, LDCs and Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) and C4 countries; and Welcomed the invitation from the G20 to participate in a Ministerial Meeting in Geneva on 15 th November 2007, to review the current state of play; Expressed their readiness to continue to work with other WTO members to reach a development oriented outcome; Instructed the ACP Coordinator in Geneva to circulate this Communiqué to the WTO membership, and to the WTO Director-General, Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee. Issued in Brussels, 9 th November 2007 |
