Commissioner LAMY's closing remarks at 5th WTO Ministerial Conference (Cancun)

Sumario: September 14, 2003: EU Press Release. Pascal Lamy, EU Trade Commissioner. Press Conference closing the World Trade Organisation 5th Ministerial Conference (Cancun, Mexico, 14 September 2003)

I do not want to beat about the bush: Cancun has failed. This is not only a severe blow for the World Trade Organisation but also a lost opportunity for all of us, developed and developing countries alike. We would all have gained. We all loose. We will not play the blame game and we will remain open to reviving this process.

We came here to reach 50% of the negotiation and we are back to 30%.

The EU came here determined to make things work. The Doha Development Agenda is the EU's top trade policy priority as you all know. We listened during the course of this week, we learnt and we adjusted our proposals. What was finally on the table had the potential for a fair deal for all the membership, a potential deal going beyond what any of us would have thought possible six months ago. This deal would have brought us a major step closer to delivering on the promises of the Doha Development Agenda.

Let me just recall the EU's proposals in this respect:

On agriculture: the EU stood ready to eliminate export subsidies on products of interest for developing countries, we offered to significantly reduce trade distorting support to farmers, after a painful process of internal reform of our agricultural policy. We were ready to significantly cut down our tariffs and open our markets to farm imports. An agreement on agriculture was within reach after moves by key players, far beyond what we would have thought possible in July.
On industrial products, our offer was designed to maximise developed countries concessions while allowing great flexibility for developing countries and sheltering the world poorest countries.
On services, the EU responded to the requests from a large number of developing countries to open its borders to the temporary movement of professionals from third countries
The EU also tabled specific proposals to give practical effect to special and differential treatment for developing countries
On Singapore issues, which are key to harnessing world trade, we played a constructive role, we moved on timing, on scope as well as on content of any possible agreement. We moved before Doha, in Doha and since Doha and again in Cancun. After intensive talks these last days and in order to forge consensus, we even accepted the chair's proposal to drop two issues and retain trade facilitation (key to small and medium companies) and transparency in public procurement.
On cotton, the EU listened carefully to the requests coming from African countries and said we would be ready to even eliminate the most trade distorting support, on top of what we already do, ie zero subsidies, duty free and quota free access. These contributions remain on the table.

Why has this not worked?

Despite the commitment of many able people, the WTO remains a medieval organisation. I said this in Seattle, got a lot of flak and I have to repeat it here. The procedures and rules of this organisation have not supported the weight of the task. There is no way to structure and steer discussions amongst 146 members in a manner conducive to consensus. The decision-making needs to be revamped. The EU remains committed to a strong rules-based multilateral trading system and will continue to work in this direction within the WTO.

Thanks a lot for your attention.

Ref: PRESS03-028EN
Fuente UE: Comisión Europea
Foro NU:
Fecha: 14/9/2003

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