'Unique opportunity to rebalance trade'

Q&A: Pascal Lamy

There is a renewed sense of urgency in successfully concluding the Doha Round of world trade talks, which was reflected in the recently concluded meeting of trade ministers of Group of Six (G-6) nations in New Delhi. The group resolved to conclude the negotiations by the end of this year and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries are working towards achieving a breakthrough in the talks by this July.

In a written reply from Geneva to a set of questions by Rituparna Bhuyan, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy recognised the need to protect livelihood security in developing nations and urged more progress in the ongoing negotiations on various issues. Excerpts:

Developing countries like India maintain that the development agenda is missing in the Doha Round. What is your view?

Development cuts across the entire Doha Agenda. In agriculture, a substantial reduction in rich country farm subsidies, which distort commodity prices exported by developing countries, is one such example. The same can be said of the elimination of agriculture export subsidies by 2013, as agreed in December or the cuts in high tariffs, in particular those charged on products exported by developing countries such as textiles, clothing or footwear. Agreement to provide duty-free and quota-free treatment to exports of the world's poorest countries is also part of the agenda. Another example is the rules simplifying Customs procedures which, as India's own experience shows, will greatly benefit developing countries' trade, including South-South.

At the same time, the agenda includes specific flexibilities for developing countries to take account of their special situation. The Doha Round offers a unique opportunity to rebalance the world trading system (for) developing countries.

Developing and least developed countries are concerned regarding the livelihood security of its farmers. Are the concerns legitimate?

Absolutely yes. Not only are these concerns legitimate, they have been recognised by the entire WTO membership, thanks to the arguments deployed by countries such as India and other G33 members. Livelihood security is one of the criteria recognised by the WTO for developing countries to designate a number of agriculture products as "special products", subject to more flexible treatment than the rest of the agriculture products.

Other criteria include food security and development needs. The discussion now turns around how many products could be designated as special products and how would those products be treated. The recent G33 meeting in Jakarta gave a step forward in addressing these questions. But more progress is needed on this issue...

According to you June is going to be a critical month for the Doha Round. But countries like India have rejected the idea of concluding the negotiations by June. How do you see the negotiations moving on?

A number of key players ""India among them "" are conducting discussions to test numbers and possible outcomes. If these small group contacts are to contribute to the overall progress in the negotiations, they will need to move into higher gear... I hope the Delhi talks this week and the meeting that the Cairns Group will hold in Pakistan next week will inject renewed energy.

Analysts feel that on the political front, concerns still remain. The Bush administration is going to have a tough time convincing Congress about the extension of the Trade Promotion Authority or a reduction in domestic farm subsidies. What are the major challenges?

The WTO comprises 150 member governments, and at any given time there are political sensitivities on trade-related issues in a number of them. Our members hold elections and important votes all the time, and while it is clear that such activity can affect the negotiating positions of certain members, our work here in Geneva must continue. Political involvement at the highest levels is not only welcomed but very much needed. Many leaders, have recently expressed support and commitment to achieving a Doha deal soon.

This is an important signal for negotiators... This political support must be translated into concrete progress at the negotiating table.

As for Trade Promotion Authority renewal, we can only focus on our work here in Geneva and hope that a breakthrough will provide an incentive to US Congress to grant the President the authority needed.

In case of a failure of the Doha Round, how will it impact the developed, the developing and the least developed countries. Will it be the end for the multilateral framework for international trade?

Failure of the Round would not mean the end of the multilateral trading system. However, I can see three undesired consequences of the failure. First of all, the WTO would be functioning with the set of rules decided 13 years ago. It is important to remember that India and developing countries in general have become much more central to the global trading system. We would therefore lose an opportunity to rebalance the world trading system in favour of developing countries. Second, we would lose what is already on the table and which represents two to three times the outcome of the last Round of negotiations "" the 1995 Uruguay Round.

Third, we would weaken... a very good insurance against protectionism. This would be very bad news for all WTO members.