The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) convened a meeting of experts focusing on enhancing Africa’s participation in the WTO, from the September 7-8, 2009.

The meeting considered the status of the WTO from agriculture, non-agriculture market access, trade facilitation among others. The meeting also discussed Africa’s positions in the current negotiations.

In agriculture, the key issues of negotiations still include the Special Safeguard Mechanisms (SSM), Special Products and also tariff capping and designation of sensitive products. The overall trade distorting support is also another grey area as well as export competition issues export credit, export credit guarantee and the cotton subsidies.

The outcomes of the Delhi mini-ministerial outlined agriculture negotiations in a two tracks process. Firstly, the technical discussion on outstanding issues such as Special Safe Mechanism, sensitive products and secondly on the templates for WTO member’s schedules of commitment which includes the data needed to undertake this exercise.

The African group’s position on the Special Safeguard Mechanism should be to effectively operationalise the SSM to address the specific needs of developing countries, and must include elements that address import surges and price declines.

The African group has called also for an amendment to the current agreement to include provisions on commodities as a result of the global economic and financial crises. This is because commodity-dependent African countries are more vulnerable to change and shocks in the international commodity markets. The African group continues to stress the importance of eliminating all forms of export subsidies by the year 2013. They also want the number of tariff lines to be increased to at least 15 per cent for special products than the 12 per cent currently designated to special products.

In Non-Agriculture Market Access negotiations, the December 6^th draft modalities remain the basis for the negotiations. There are still a number of unresolved issues such as “the sectoral approach”. Developed countries are pushing for developing countries to lower their tariffs in “selected” sectors to zero or lower levels and this implies taking part in at least one or two sectoral initiatives as mandatory when this approach is supposed to be voluntary.

The anti-concentration clause is also another issue of controversy which is designed to prevent developing countries from excluding an entire sector or close to an entire sector from full formula tariff cuts. The Africa group insists that NAMA must have less than full reciprocity provisions and ensure market access for Least Developed Countries duty free, quota free and ensure the sectoral approach has an in-built Special and Differential Treatment and an audit should be done of the NAMA negotiations in light of the current economic and financial crises.

On services, the aspect of rules, domestic regulations, emergency safeguards, subsidies and government procurement, negotiations are progressing rather slowly including negotiations on Mode 4. The process of putting forward service offers has also commenced.

On trade facilitation, the main challenge has been developing effective disciplines, while at the same time, giving effect to the broad provisions on Special and Differential Treatment for LDCs and developing countries. There are three scenarios envisaged, regulations that will apply immediately after entry into force of the Agreement; those that will apply after expiration of a transition period and emphasis on building the technical and financial capacities to implement any new disciplines. The Africa group insists that needs assessments to be undertaken. The meeting also considered the preparation of schedules in both the NAMA and Agriculture negotiations.

The process forward of the WTO negotiation is as follows: establish modalities in Agriculture and NAMA – in the first quarter of 2010, followed by preparation of schedules based on modalities, then verification of schedules, concluding negotiations in other areas including services, rules, development etc, Legal drafting, signing of final act and domestic ratification processes.

 The meeting recommended that the ECA, African Union and development partners should assist African countries in undertaking a development audit of the Doha round and critically review the relationship between Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the Doha Development Agenda. African countries should continue to advocate for linkages between trade facilitation and Aid-for-Trade.

Countries should be guided by both trade and industrial policy before binding tariffs during the scheduling process and capacity building sessions should be organised for national negotiators to develop skills on how to verify schedules of other countries and also to find out whether other members are complying with their schedules and finally, African countries should set benchmarks for the forthcoming WTO Ministerial.

Report by Christabel Phiri (TWN Africa).

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