August 4 , 2005
IN THIS ALERT:

WTO General Council Meeting Outcomes & Services Report

Last week's meeting of the WTO General Council failed to adopt "first approximations," which were expected to be the basis for advancing the Doha Round ahead of this December's Ministerial Meeting.  Instead, status reports outlining the state of play in all the major negotiating areas were adopted. Click here to view a streaming video news release from the General Council meeting, and a streaming video from a July 29 news conference.
 
The services negotiations report states that, in general, Members are dissatisfied with the lack of progress and recognize that a tremendous amount of work remains. Although the total number of offers has improved – there are currently 68 initial offers and 24 revised offers - the overall quality is unsatisfactory with few, if any, new commercial opportunities for service suppliers. Many Members also acknowledged that the current request-offer method alone is not producing the desired results and that they should explore all negotiating methods available. The report also describes members' assessments of offers in various service sectors.  Click here for a copy of the report.

Supachai Issues Final TNC Report

On July 28, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi issued his final report as Trade Negotiations Committee Chairman, in which he said that a successful Ministerial Conference this December is still possible provided members dedicate themselves to "a politically engaged, results oriented, decision making mode of operation immediately after the (summer) recess."  Click here for a copy of the report.
 
US & EU Statements to WTO General Council, TNC

In remarks to the WTO General Council meeting on July 29, US Trade Representative Robert Portman reiterated the U.S. commitment to an ambitious Doha Round, and noted that, while trade is a difficult issue in the US, the momentum is positive, signified by Congress' passage of the US-Dominican Republic-Central American free trade agreement, the recent short extension of Trade Promotion Authority, and the Congressional vote in favor of the US remaining in the WTO. Click here for a copy of Portman's statement.   Click here for a transcript of a July 29 press briefing he gave in Geneva.

The previous day, Deputy US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said that the Doha Round and strengthening the WTO were centerpieces of the U.S. trade agenda.  He acknowledged disappointment that more progress had not been made on moving the Round forward and called for forward movement in September "with renewed intensity, shared responsibility, and most of all, commitments to find compromises..."  Click here for a copy of Allgeier's statement.
 
On July 28, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson called for key WTO members to commit to reform of domestic support programs in agriculture, tariff reductions in NAMA, and new modalities for services negotiations by the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting in December.  "[W]e cannot look with optimism to September if we stick to the same negotiating techniques. I hope the new Director General will undertake his own appraisal of the situation and consider a different approach and way forward...Our working methods must change. I believe the way is clear to explore additional negotiating approaches within the established GATS and July framework guidelines," he said.  Click here for a copy of Commissioner Mandelson's statement.

In an assessment delivered the same day, Peter Carl, EU Director General DG Trade, said that in the services negotiations, "There is hardly any progress. The number of revised, improved offers still falls far short of what is needed and most of those submitted so far do not provide for new market access opportunities. Indeed, in most cases they do not even reflect existing levels of liberalization in some developed countries! This situation is unsustainable and must be corrected by Hong Kong (HK). For the EU, services are crucial for the overall balance of the DDA."  Click here for a copy of his remarks.
 
Council for Trade in Services Chairman Jara to become WTO Deputy DG

Ambassador Alejandro Jara, Chairman of the WTO Council for Trade in Services – Special Session, has been selected as one of the new Deputies to incoming WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.  In a July 29 press statement, the WTO Secretariat said that Valentine Rugwabiza of Rwanda, Harsha Singh of India and Rufus Yerxa of the United States would be the other three Deputies. Ambassador Jara has served as Chile's ambassador to the WTO since 2000. Ms. Rugwabiza has served as Rwanda's Ambassador to the WTO since 2002 and is the first woman ever appointed as a Deputy Director-General for the World Trade Organization. Mr. Singh, currently Secretary of India's Telecom Regulatory Authority, is a former member of the WTO Secretariat. Mr. Yerxa, a former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, has served the last three years as Deputy to Dr. Supachai.  Click here for a copy of the announcement.

Global Insurance Industry Urges India to Raise Foreign Ownership Cap on Insurance

On July 27, 2005, 21 international associations and global insurance companies sent a letter to Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, expressing the industry's concern over India's 26% foreign ownership cap in the insurance sector.  Click here for a copy of the letter.