EP - After Cancún - Lamy queries fundamentals of trade policy

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal LAMY on Wednesday raised the question of whether the fundamentals of international trade policy needed to be rethought following the unsuccessful WTO conference in Cancún. Speaking at at a meeting of Parliament's Industry and Trade Committee he said "The Doha process is not dead but it certainly is in intensive care. What do we do next? Calmly, coolly, without panicking, we need to re-examine the essentials of trade in order to avoid strategic and tactical errors in the future/". He argued there was a need to reconsider the balance between market-opening and rule-making, the balance between the multilateral and bilateral approach, the future of EU trade preference schemes for developing countries and the organisational efficiency of the WTO.

Does market liberalisation require rules?

First, Mr. LAMY asked whether the European Union should still stick to its "idealistic philosophy" of insisting that international trade liberalisation be subject WTO and EU rules. He argued that the current equilibrium between market opening and rule-making was an essentially European notion, on which the European internal market had been constructed.

Multilateral or bilateral approach

The breakdown of the negotiations in Cancún meant that the multilateral road had been blocked. Mr LAMY felt that bilateral and regional negotiations with selective partners might be a more efficient and simpler solution for the EU. The bilateral approach would be especially beneficial to developing countries but, in the Commissioner's opinion, it might also be an obstacle in future multilateral negotiations. MEPs in the committee made it clear that they were in favour of the multilateral approach, hitherto the hallmark of EU external policies.

Globalisation and less developed countries

"Globalisation is an ongoing process. What is the real importance and contribution of the WTO to the growth of the least developed countries? The WTO is not a development agency", emphasised the Commissioner. He noted further that trade policies had been extensively influenced by the WTO but developing countries' growth also depended on their internal policies and participation in international policy-making.

MEPs were particularly concerned about the ACP countries and whether EU policies were appropriate to helping developing countries become part of the international trade system. Caroline LUCAS (Greens/EFA, UK) suggested giving more political weight to the developing countries.

Members of the committee also expressed concern about the growing power of China in the international trade system and its effect on the EU market. Paolo PASTORELLI (EPP-ED, I) called for the EU to adopt a tougher trade stance towards China, which he said "could invade our market due to its considerably cheaper energy and raw materials".

WTO system efficient or not?

Finally, Mr LAMY questioned whether the present WTO was a feasible way of making efficient decisions on international trade: "The WTO has few rules, and even they are not always applied", he quipped. He raised the possibility of introducing voting into the WTO and giving the power of initiative to the WTO Director General.


02.10.2003 Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy
In the chair: Luis BERENGUER FUSTER (PES, E)

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