Trade Dialogues
WTO discusses how environmental measures may impact trade and business
Geneva: Business leaders from around the world met at a virtual Trade Dialogues session dedicated to the business community on June 23, 2021 to discuss pressing issues to be taken up at the upcoming World Trade Organization’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) and shared ideas and recommendations on what topics the organization should tackle in the future.
The session was organised jointly with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and brought together over 80 business representatives who discussed their priorities in the various areas of the WTO’s work. The Dialogues, the fourth in the series, have been organised since 2016 and involve both the ICC and the B20, the business arm of the G20.
The three main themes deliberated upon were : the WTO response to COVID-19, MC12 deliverables, and the future work programme of the WTO. During the opening session, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was joined by General Council Chair Ambassador Dacio Castillo, ICC Chair Ajay Banga and B20 Italy Chair Emma Marcegaglia.
B20 Chair Emma Marcegaglia said: “We stand ready to support the modernization and the reform of the Organization, and we are committed to help it deliver, take again the centre stage in the multilateral trading scheme and regenerate its legitimacy for the benefit of all.”
Business leaders expressed strong support for a conclusion of the various negotiations underway and called for an urgent resolution of the Appellate Body impasse. They made a strong plea for a clear and decisive work programme to resolve the ongoing Appellate Body impasse and to restore fully the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.
Participants said the WTO must not fail in restoring an effective dispute settlement system, in updating its trade rules, in addressing the growing importance to global trade of e-commerce, and in meeting the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change and sustainable development.
DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “Our rules directly impact businesses’ ability to move goods and services across borders and tap into new markets. Because they deal with these realities every day, they can help us and the members understand what is working well, and more importantly, what is not. This is much needed input as we work to deliver results between now and our 12th Ministerial Conference in early December.”
There was recognition that the WTO’s rulebook needs to be brought up to date and current work boosted as part of any reform effort. Related to this, several participants mentioned the importance of transparency in regulatory systems to facilitate trade and the need to reinforce the WTO’s monitoring function. They also underlined the importance of the WTO’s continued work on addressing regulatory barriers to trade.
They voiced strong support for an early conclusion of the fisheries subsidies negotiations and urged members to make progress on agriculture at MC12, and expressed strong interest in the work of the so-called joint initiatives and hoped to see tangible outcomes in these areas.
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Participants discussed priorities for the future agenda of the WTO, which should take into consideration 21st century challenges related to the environment and sustainability.
Many speakers cited the importance of environmental sustainability and how environmental measures may impact trade and business. Issues such as carbon border adjustment measures and facilitating trade in environmental goods and services need to be carefully considered. The WTO is the natural forum for such talks and business should contribute to the discussions, they said.
Among the issues under discussion were how the WTO could address current and future challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants shared their ideas on how the WTO can facilitate the fight against the pandemic and what could be done differently at the WTO in order to support the response to COVID-19 and future health crises.
Participants said that the COVID-19 pandemic has put increasing pressure on the participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and of women in trade. Action to improve trade finance, digital connectivity and logistics networks could help MSMEs and women entrepreneurs recover from the pandemic and participate in global trade on an equal footing. De minimis thresholds to exempt low-value shipments from customs duties would also benefit small players, participants said. Such MC12 deliverables for MSMEs and women would provide them with opportunities to pivot towards more lucrative markets and benefit more fully from trade in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry discussed the role of the WTO and its rules-based system in combating COVID-19 and possible future health crises. Participants focused, in particular, on how the WTO could facilitate the role of the private sector in the fight against the pandemic.
Pharma representatives underlined the urgent need for transfer of technology, know-how and skills as well as for the establishment of regional vaccine manufacturing facilities to ensure rapid and equitable access to vaccines for all. They highlighted the need to fight against “vaccine nationalism” by eliminating export restrictions and tariffs on pharmaceutical and other COVID-19-related medical products. They also called for improving and streamlining customs procedures.
Participants stressed the importance of having production capacity in various locations across the developing world and of leveraging unutilized facilities so that vaccine production can be increased. The main objective should be to increase as much as possible the number of doses being manufactured. To achieve this, strong political leadership is needed, they said. In their view, there is not an issue with protection of intellectual property rights but with manufacturing capacity. Even if a patent is shared, it can be very difficult to manufacture a vaccine without the required know- how, they said.
Enhancing human capital to produce the high-quality vaccines required by highly regulated markets was also addressed, as was the importance of putting in place shared “artificial intelligence models” of the global supply chain – without the pooling of sensitive data – to help make trade safe, legal, inclusive and resilient.
“We have to be ready to make the most of this moment – and that will come not by talking about the future of the WTO, but by empowering and building the WTO of the future. The ICC stands ready to shape a more inclusive, sustainable global trading system that will benefit us all,” ICC Chair Ajay Banga said.
– global bihari bureau
