March 29 , 2011
IN THIS ALERT:
Think of Cost of Doha Round Failure, Lamy Urges Members as Deadline Looms
At a World Trade Organization Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting on March 29, 2011, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told Ambassadors that WTO members risk failing to deliver the breakthrough needed in April in order to conclude the Doha Round negotiations this year. "The absence of progress in NAMA sectorals constitutes today a major obstacle to progress on the remaining market access issues," he said. "However, let me be clear, this is not the only market access related problem area. There are other issues whether in agriculture or to a larger extent in services - which have not been resolved either." Lamy said he will consult members privately over the next couple weeks to attempt to find a way forward. For a copy of Director-General Lamy's statement, click here: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/tnc_dg_infstat_29mar11_e.htm.
Ambassador Punke Outlines Wide Gaps Among WTO members
In his statement at the same meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Michael Punke said that there remain very large gaps between WTO members in all three major pillars of the negotiations. In services, he said that "we discussed with key partners our priority market access interests in various areas and were told that none of these requests could be met." He noted similarly wide gaps in the agriculture and NAMA negotiations. For a copy of Ambassador Punke's statement, click here: http://geneva.usmission.gov/2011/03/29/ambassador-punkes-statement-on-doha/
OECD Working Paper Examines Role of Logistics Services in Facilitating Trade
In a recent OECD Working Paper, Jane Korinek of the OECD and Patricia Sourdin of the University of Adelaide investigate the role that trade logistics play in international trade, and the extent to which poor quality logistics constitute a barrier to trade. Their paper explains how inefficient logistics services impede trade by imposing an extra cost in terms of time as well as money. As developed nations shift from traditional manufacturing and agriculture and are increasingly engaging in international vertical specialization, the need for efficient logistics services becomes ever more important. High quality logistics services improve the competitiveness of a country's exports by reducing the cost involved in transporting goods - especially for countries that are disadvantaged by being far from major markets. For a copy of this paper, click here: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/trade/to-what-extent-are-high-quality-logistics-services-trade-facilitating_5kggdthrj1zn-en