WTO Reform Facilitator: Momentum Building for Change
Delegations to the World Trade Organization understand that if the WTO doesn't reform, things will get worse, rather than holding steady, according to Petter Olberg, Norway’s ambassador to the WTO and the man facilitating reform discussions.
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"That realization … is providing momentum to the discussion," Olberg said. "After six months of intense discussions on WTO reform, we have made quite a bit of progress," he told reporters during a Dec. 18 press conference. "There is a shared understanding that this place has to reform, we have to do something."
He said that while a reform plan will not be ready for the ministerial conference in March, he hopes there will be a work plan they can endorse "which takes into account different views."
A reporter asked about the recent position paper shared by the U.S. mission, which said the era of offering most-favored nation rates to all WTO members is over (see 2512160045).
"It is true it is one element of the U.S. paper. And it should not surprise anyone. They have been saying that -- they have been doing it since the beginning of the year."
He said the U.S. is the only country making that argument, and many countries would like to reaffirm the need for non-discriminatory treatment.
"That does not mean we should not discuss it," he said. "It goes to the very heart of the WTO."
He said delegations need to have in-depth discussions, asking questions like: "What does it mean if a big, important member says MFN is no longer the rule?"
Olberg said the reform plan has three planks, and the most complex one is fairness, or a level playing field.
"Everyone has their own view of what that means, and it means different things to different countries. Developing countries have their take on it. China has a completely different take on it," and of course, the U.S. has a take on it.
He said that the subsidies agreement has not changed since 1995 and is clearly outdated. But even the current rules on subsidies are not complied with, down to notifying the WTO about subsidies. He said the U.S. and many others complain about the lack of adherence to notification guidelines.
"Notifications are dramatically down; transparency is down. Not only in China, but in many countries," he said. "If you don’t have transparency you’ll have a trust issue," so better transparency is a logical place to start.
The U.S. in its position paper complained that while it suggested a way to spur better notification compliance, that approach was abandoned.
Another plank of the reform plan is how to get plurilateral agreements to the finish line if there is no consensus on the agreement. He noted that there are several that are ready for adoption, but have been blocked by a few countries.
"The proposal is to look at pragmatic ways, perhaps with some guardrails of how to open up that avenue when consensus is not possible," Olberg said. "Frustration is increasing."
The ministerial conference also will talk about the moratorium on duties for electronic transfers, known as the e-commerce moratorium. The U.S. proposes that the moratorium be prolonged indefinitely, instead of a two- or three-year period.
"Many, many members want that, but we know at least a handful don't want that," he said, including Caricom, which represents Caribbean countries, and India, which frequently argues against any moratorium at all.