The World Trade Organization (WTO) is close to the conclusion of the first global trade agreement in more than a decade, which could increase the annual trade value by $1,000 billion to $18,000 billion, according to analysts’ estimates. The WTO might agree on a world trade reform package by the end of the weekend after 10 weeks of talks.
United States and major emerging economies such as India and China are talking about changes to the rules on agriculture so that negotiators have to just settle the final details of the agreement, according to the British newspaper Financial Times.
The new head of the WTO, Roberto Azevedo, the former Brazil’s ambassador to the WTO, could come up with a proposal for the final version of the organization’s general council in a meeting that could take place on Sunday or Monday.
“The patient flatlined a few times but we got the heartbeat going again,” said Roberto Avezedo.
In the absence of unforeseen problems, the agreement could be signed by 159 countries at a meeting scheduled for next month in Bali, preventing a re-opening of the negotiations.
The main provisions of the agreement such as the bureaucratic barriers at borders and issues related to agriculture and development – were taken from the Doha agenda established two years ago. The tariff rate quotas for agriculture was a thorny section with a paragraph that will expire in 2019: “This is not an elegant solution. Rarely have I seen a worse solution,” said Avezedo.
The most important component of the agreement among WTO members aimed at removing obstacles to cross-border trade bureaucracy. The agreement will introduce mandatory standards for WTO members, such as the maximum period during which goods must receive notice of customs transit, the way the tariff rates and penalties will be applied and the documentation pertaining to the trade.
Reply