Tag: Retreat

WTO agriculture retreat said strong on context but weak on give-and-take

Some who attended blamed the ‘vacuum’ caused by a delay in appointing a new chair, and ambassadors reading from prepared statements

By Peter Ungphakorn
POSTED OCTOBER 26, 2022 | UPDATED OCTOBER 26, 2022

Monday’s (October 24) “retreat” on agriculture at the World Trade Organization (WTO) was supposed to produce new ideas to help move the stalled farm trade talks forward, but some accounts suggest it was stronger on alerting delegates to new challenges than on developing new negotiating approaches.

This seems to contrast with the brainstorming approach seen in a similar event a fortnight earlier on the fisheries subsidies negotiations (October 10, 2022).

Part of the problem may be that a new chair still has not been appointed for the talks — a problem shared with fisheries subsidies, but apparently not affecting that earlier retreat.

Continue reading “WTO agriculture retreat said strong on context but weak on give-and-take”

Are retreats the new pandemic at the World Trade Organization?

Following the ‘success’ in June, the new enthusiasm for ‘retreats’ suggests WTO members don’t actually know what to do

By Peter Ungphakorn
POSTED OCTOBER 8, 2022 | UPDATED NOVEMBER 13, 2022

An epidemic of retreats is breaking out at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On Monday October 10, 2022, WTO members gathered in Evian in France (cross the lake and turn left) to talk about fish. A fortnight later they were back on the Geneva shore to discuss agriculture. Not long after, they talked about “WTO reform”.

There’s even a call to do the same on intellectual property. The list is getting longer. The epidemic could become a pandemic.

Continue reading “Are retreats the new pandemic at the World Trade Organization?”

UPDATES: the WTO fisheries subsidies talks. 2020–2024

Timeline with links to some key documents and news

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By Peter Ungphakorn
POSTED APRIL 21, 2021 | UPDATED AS INDICATED

The drive for a WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies accelerated in 2021 and eventually led to a slightly stripped down deal.

The agreement reached at the Geneva ministerial conference on June 17, 2022 had a vital piece missing, subsidies contributing to overfishing and overcapacity. See also: ‘Fisheries subsidies’ has been agreed by WTO ministers. What’s next? Talks continue in the search for that missing piece. Failure means the agreement self-destructs.

Updates on the latest developments will be added here, with links to new documents and news items, including ratifications (chart and in a nutshell).

Key events

  • Latest ratifications chart, ratifications summary, events
  • April 12, 2024 — chair Gunnarsson circulates a copy of the “advance draft” from the final day of the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference. His accompanying explanation includes an account of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi
  • March 2, 2024 (updated) — The Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference ends. Members are totally deadlocked on fisheries subsidies (and agriculture). The final declaration does not even mention it. Eye witnesses report a confrontation between ministers from India, Fiji and Vanuatu
  • February 26–27, 2024 — big celebration of 69 ratifications, with one more a day later, but the target for entry into force is missed and quietly dropped
  • February 16–19, 2024 — draft for the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference circulated
  • January 16–February 12, 2024 — the final busy “fish month” before the Ministerial Conference leaves the chair with a lot of redrafting. He plans to circulate a new version before the conference.
  • December 21, 2023 (updated January 2, 2024) — the chair’s new draft and explanation are released publicly
  • December 12, 2023 — next round of talks: a “fish month” from mid-January 2024. Will members have enough time to settle all their differences?
  • December 4–8, 2023 — at the end of the final “fish week” of 2023, chair Einar Gunnarsson concedes that agreement cannot be reached by year-end. Negotiators are left with lots still to do and no end in sight. No new ratifications since October either
  • October 23–24, 2023 — year-end set as target to complete negotiations on the text. Also, seven new ratifications. Does that count as a surge?
  • October 9–13, 2023 — sixth “fish week”, members set out their differences but do not negotiate. Details of India’s controversial paper emerge
  • September 18–22, 2023 — fifth “fish week”, call for ratifications when senior officials meet, October 23–24
  • September 9–10, 2023 — G20 leaders’ strange commitment
  • September 4, 2023 — first draft on disciplines for subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing, the “missing piece”
  • July 10–14, 2023 — fourth of a series of “fish weeks”
  • May 25, 2023 — EU to ratify. But will that bring total ratifications to 34 or 35? A long-standing WTO conundrum
  • February 28, 2023 — WTO head shifts target for ratifications back to 2024
  • January 27, 2023 — new chair picked after months of deadlock
  • January 24, 2023 — first ratification (Switzerland)
  • October 10, 2022 — Evian retreat
  • September 26, 2022 — chair Santiago Wills departs
  • June 17, 2022 — slimmed-down agreement reached at ministerial conference
  • June 10, 2022 — new draft
  • November 24, 2021 — new draft
  • November 8, 2021 — new draft
  • June 30, 2021 — new draft circulated publicly
  • May 27, 2021 — US proposal on forced labour
  • December 2020 — draft leaked
Continue reading “UPDATES: the WTO fisheries subsidies talks. 2020–2024”