Antonio Broto
Geneva, February 25 (EFECOM). – Trade policymakers from more than 160 countries will meet this Monday in Abu Dhabi for the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to analyze the organization's future as a world leader in exchanges and negotiations in areas such as agriculture or fisheries.
The trade summit, which will last until Thursday 29, is taking place in a climate of pessimism, as many believe that the current situation with major war conflicts, growing tensions between the United States, Russia and China or economic uncertainties in the West does not create a better environment to reach agreements.
The only result that is taken for granted in the Emirati capital is therefore that the WTO will complete its first enlargement in eight years with the accession of East Timor and the Comoros, bringing the number of members of the organization to 166 in its 30th year Celebrate anniversary.
The main item on the agenda is to continue negotiations to unblock the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism itself, which has been paralyzed since 2019 due to the United States' refusal to appoint new judges and calls from this and other countries for a comprehensive structural reform of the litigation system .
At the previous XII. Ministerial Conference held in Geneva in 2022, members committed to resolving this issue, which threatens the WTO's image as a global trade broker, before the end of 2024, especially given the shadow of a possible return of Donald Trump – declared enemy of multilateralism – to the white A house.
On fisheries, negotiations in Abu Dhabi must continue to expand the historic 2022 agreement and reduce subsidies that encourage illegal fishing, but this is not enough to stop overfishing that threatens marine biodiversity.
On agricultural issues, which are so topical in Europe due to protests in the sector in various countries, it is practically impossible to move forward in negotiations that have been in limbo for decades.
Many delegations emphasize that the Ministerial Conference can certainly agree on an investment support mechanism that will be integrated into the statutes of the WTO, an initiative promoted by 125 economies, most of which are developing countries and led by emerging economies such as China.
On the other hand, a new extension of the moratorium on tariffs for electronic commerce is being negotiated, which has been agreed in all previous editions of these summits and which, on this occasion, would certainly mean an extension until the next ministerial meeting of principle for 2026 in Cameroon.
Although it was initially assumed that Abu Dhabi would negotiate an extension of the suspension of patents on anti-Covid vaccines (which was achieved in Geneva in 2022) to diagnoses and treatments against the disease, it is now expected that this discussion will be postponed could disappear from the agenda.
The end of the pandemic has reduced the sense of urgency that existed on this point two years ago, and the fact that no country has taken advantage of this suspension to produce its own vaccines against Covid suggests that WTO members will focus on other negotiations.
“There are great challenges to be overcome, difficulties in many negotiations, so a certain atmosphere of optimism must be accompanied by a dose of realism, since the positions are far apart,” admitted the Director General of the WTO in the days before the big event. the Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. EFECOM
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