WTO Agrees to Framework for Doha Talks

147 members of the World Trade Organization, including Korea, unanimously approved the basic framework for the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations.

Accordingly, the DDA negotiations, which were at a standstill since the breakdown of the WTO’s ministerial meeting in Cancun in last September, are expected to be accelerated.

According to the Foreign Affairs/Trade Ministry and Agriculture/Forestry Ministry on August 1, the basic framework for the DDA negotiations was adopted at 12:30 a.m. (local time) at the WTO General Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

This framework agreement was based on the first and revised draft presented by WTO General Council Chairman Shotaro Oshima and arranged after a heated discussion among member countries.

The agreement will keep to the framework of “Oshima’s first draft,” where higher tariffs will face deeper tariff cuts in the opening of agriculture markets, and which also says that that for sensitive products, such as rice, which have been this negotiation’s highest issue, all member countries may choose a fixed number of tariff products to be “sensitive.” Also, developing nations can appoint an appropriate number of their farm products as SP (special product).

However, if the product is to be designated “sensitive,” the low tariff TRQ (tariff-rate quota) must be increased or the tariff cut down for actual access to the market.

As for access to the non-agricultural market, a tariff reduction method where higher tariff has higher cuts is to be applied.

The Korean delegates’ opposition to setting a maximum tariff and increasing the TRQ was not reflected in the agreement. They judged that there were some accomplishments, including the induction of special product (SP) for developing nations, however, and so decided to agree on the framework.

This agreement was judged to lack concreteness because expected it had to get the approval of all the member countries whose interest relations are quite complicated.

Also, sensitive matters were held back to be decided on in future negotiations. Many difficulties are expected in the DDA talks for modalities, which will start from this September.

The government is planning to discuss with related organizations and actively participate in the talks for modalities, and reflect as much as possible Korea’s views in sensitive fields such as the agricultural and fisheries industry.

Ji-Wan Cha cha@donga.com