WTO NEXT MEETING HOW TO

Even with the majority of WTO members supporting the waiver idea, there seems little prospect that differences can be overcome. There remains much disagreement here, with many governments and civil-society groups saying that the EU option is far too narrow. As an alternative, the EU proposed permitting compulsory licensing of selected patented vaccines and treatments. A disagreement has been raging for the past 18 months over a joint India-South Africa proposal for a blanket WTO patent waiver under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement for COVID-19 vaccines. Trying to find consensus on improving trade in vaccines and medicines presents some difficulties. So, more talk but not much concrete action on this item.

The meeting will probably agree on some kind of resolution calling for continued discussion around reform, but the paralysis likely won’t be resolved, also inhibiting reforms in other areas of the organization. continuing the previous Trump position that the body has far exceeded its mandate and refusing to agree to new appointments, leaving the dispute settlement system dysfunctional. But a breakthrough here faces a substantial roadblock that revolves around the Appellate Body – the standing group that hears appeals in disputes between WTO members – with the U.S. Some say reforming the WTO is an existential issue. Structural change and institutional reform Potential progress here has also been boosted by the recent China-U.S.

A group of countries, co-chaired by Canada’s WTO ambassador Stephen de Boer, has been formulating an ambitious trade and sustainability work program, including restarting the stalled negotiations on an environmental goods agreement.

WTO NEXT MEETING HOW TO

High-level resolutions should be expected – possibly agreements on how to facilitate trade in green goods and carbon-free technologies. MC12 has a packed agenda, but here’s an overview of five major things to watch for.Ĭlimate change and environmental sustainabilityĪfter COP26, it would be hard for trade ministers to not deal with climate change and worldwide efforts to get to net-zero carbon emissions. Taking geopolitical factors into account, including the COP26 results, what can we expect from MC12? While some in the business community may see the meeting as removed from day-to-day market activity, international business relations will be impacted by its outcomes. A promising development is the recent agreement by the two countries to co-sponsor a declaration at MC12 on environmental sustainability, possibly adumbrating U.S.-China co-operation in other areas. Restoring the organization’s diminishing relevance and showing it can be responsive to today’s pressing global issues (trade and climate change being at the forefront) represents a daunting challengeĪmerican leadership on these fronts is critical, with the U.S.-China relationship shaping many of the possible outcomes at the meeting. The first meeting of WTO trade ministers in four years, the talks will test the political skills of the new WTO director-general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in getting consensus on a range of contentious issues. While some may have been disappointed by the recent COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, it has delivered on many promises, creating expectations for the next major global gathering – the World Trade Organization’s all-important 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), to be held in Geneva from Nov.

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