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Message from the Minister for International Trade
I have recently returned from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial in Doha, Qatar. The event was an extraordinary experience and covered some key ground in favour of broader international trade liberalization. I believe that, in the trade world — and possibly in a broader sense, as well — November 14th will prove to have been a historic day. It was on that day that Canada and the 141 other member countries of the WTO agreed to launch a new round of global trade negotiations, a round with an unprecedented thrust toward promoting development and trade liberalization more broadly.
With the success of Doha, we have been able to turn the page on the Seattle failure and to reconcile East and West over agriculture. Indeed, in the Ministerial Declaration, Members committed, in upcoming negotiations, to reducing with a view to phasing out, all forms of agricultural export subsidies, as well as substantially reducing domestic support that distorts trade, and also substantially improving market access for agriculture producers globally.
In addition to agriculture, Ministers also committed to:
- negotiations on non-agricultural market access;
- firm and realistic time-lines for the services negotiations;
- negotiations to improve the disciplines on anti-dumping and subsidy/countervailing measures;
- improving transparency in the WTO's operations;
- negotiations to improve the WTO's dispute settlement system;
- negotiations on the relationship between WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements; and
- a focussed work program on investment, competition policy, transparency and government procurement and trade facilitation, leading to a decision on negotiations at the 2003 Ministerial Conference.
We are also now on a new page in North/South relations. The Doha Development Agenda, as it has been termed, will contribute to economic growth and reduction of poverty in developing countries. It sets the stage for addressing developing country concerns about market access for agriculture and industrial products. We are collectively committed to taking into account developing and least-developed countries' ability to implement any new rules, and providing technical cooperation and assistance to build capacity in their economies. In other words, development issues are now at the heart of the WTO.
On the issue of intellectual property, a specific declaration clarified WTO rules, confirming that they should provide flexibility for countries to deal with public health crises and promote access to medicines for all.
The WTO is aiming to conclude this new round of multilateral trade negotiations by January 1, 2005. The first meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee that will oversee negotiations will be held by January 31, 2002. The negotiations will be a "single undertaking," meaning that nothing is finally agreed until everything is finally agreed. Agreements reached at an early stage, however, could be implemented on a provisional basis. Also, we are looking at improving the Dispute Settlement Understanding by May 2003.
The success of the Conference resulted from the goodwill of its many participants, careful and inclusive preparation, very long hours of hard work, and the shared commitment to find solutions that were satisfactory to all stakeholders. If we are to turn the intentions of Doha into the realities of a better world, we shall have to persevere down this same path.
As always, I welcome your views on the international trade issues before us.
Sincerely,
Pierre S. Pettigrew
Minister for International Trade
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