AGRICULTURE
EU position: Trade in agriculture is a key issue. The EU objective is to find a balance between market opening and preservation of a viable countryside, and not just in the EU, but around the world. Europe, and many others, including a number of developing countries, have made a political choice to support their agriculture because it is not just another economic activity. It plays a part in conserving the environment, food safety or in animal welfare.
Is the European Union "protectionist"? Let the figures speak for themselves. The EU is the world's leading importer of farm products, worth nearly €60 billion in 2001. We alone import as much from the developing countries as the US, Japan, Canada and Australia combined. Since we grant so many preferences to the developing countries, the real level of our customs duties is around 10%. Not withstanding this solid base of trade, we put a further ambitious package on the table in January: we proposed reducing customs duties by 36%, reducing export subsidies by 45% and reducing trade-distorting aids by over 55%. And then in June came a further reform of the EU's common agricultural policy, which enables us to continue supporting our agriculture, but moving further away from trade distorting practices. And most recently of all, in mid-August the EU and the US agreed to present a common initiative on agriculture, to pave the way for progress in Cancun towards an overall agreement in the Doha negotiations.
Decision to take in Cancun: Cancun needs to adopt a framework for the further commitments and related disciplines on key outstanding issues on market access, export competition and domestic support. The EU has significantly contributed to the possibilities of making Cancun a success through the EU-US joint initiative on agriculture in August and the text in the draft declaration - despite being unbalanced - represents progress.
For further information:
Trade and agriculture:
DG Agriculture website:
FAQs: The WTO and EU agriculture:
TRADE IN GOODS
EU position: "Trade" used to be largely about industrial goods, and that was the focus of the first Trade Rounds: tariffs and quotas. We have steadily reduced them ever since. But there is still work to be done, and it is pretty urgent for all WTO players as manufactures account for over 70% of the developing countries' exports. In the spirit of Doha, the EU has made its partners a substantial offer that would keep customs duties within a narrow bracket and prevent tariff peaks for some products. We have even suggested doing away with export restrictions on raw materials and giving everyone zero rating for textiles and clothing, which are the developing countries' main exports. Again, we have made progress on this with a number of our principal trading partners, and have worked with them to find a deal, which is particularly fair to developing country players. Clinching agreement on an overall approach will be one of the key priorities in Cancun.
Decision to take in Cancun: Cancun should establish the "modalities" and set the timetable for the remainder of the negotiations. Again, progress has been made, although the proposals in the current draft declaration remain excessively modest in their ambition.
For further information:
Trade in industrial goods web page:
Textiles web page:
SERVICES
EU position: Trade in services is another big item on the negotiating agenda. What does it cover? Services are at the heart of the EU economies: information technology, advisory services, banking, insurance, distribution, transport, tourism.,. And they are the most dynamic sector of the economy, accounting for two-thirds of European gross domestic product (GDP) and two-thirds of our jobs: 110 million people work in this sector. Services are also crucial for the economies of other countries, they account for 50% of the developing countries' GDP, for instance. 15 of the world's 40 leading service exporters are from developing countries.
However, their share of international trade does not always reflect the crucial and growing role they play in the world economy. Developing countries are pressing for an opening of these markets, including the temporary movement of professional service providers.
Decision to take in Cancun: Ministers should urge those that may not already have done so to submit initial offers, encourage improvements to existing offers, and establish a clear roadmap for completing the negotiations.
For further information:
Trade in services web page:
MEDICINES
EU position: It seems self-evident that people suffering from the three major infectious diseases — Aids, tuberculosis and malaria — should have access to medicines. However, WTO members have been divided for many months on this issue, with the US most reluctant to agree to a solution. It is an urgent problem and we cannot ignore it. Broadly speaking, the idea is to make an exception to intellectual property rules, which rightly protect pharmaceutical research, by authorising developing countries to produce or buy generic medicines more cheaply. The outstanding issue involved developing countries with no capacity to produce medicines and which therefore need to import generic drugs (medicines not under patents). And finally, on the eve of Cancun an agreement has been reached! Urged by the EU, the US has finally rallied the consensus found by the remaining 145 WTO members in December 2002. This is a strong signal of our collective ability to regulate globalisation. It is a clear sign that the WTO can take a practical, pragmatic approach to help save lives.
Decision to take in Cancun: the Cancun conference will be able to take note of the definitive solution to this issue with agreement on the text which has been on the table since 16 December 2002. This agreement will ultimately result in an amendment of the TRIPs Agreement. It shows the ability of the WTO membership to take action in favour of solving societal problems such as access to important medicine for developing countries
For further information:
Access to medicines web page:
Better rules for International Trade
EU position: This means new rules to ensure that the benefits of open trade are evenly spread: investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement. It is not about standardising but rather establishing a minimum set of rules for everyone which are non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable, something which is particularly important for developing countries. We realise the additional negotiating effort this exercise demands from developing countries. Hence the emphasis on technical assistance to help them adjust their domestic legislation later.
Decision to take in Cancun: WTO members need to take decisions on the negotiating modalities for each of these four issues, so that negotiations can start immediately after Cancun and conclude successfully by the end of 2004, along with the other issues in the DDA.
For further information:
Trade and competition web page:
Trade facilitation web page:
Trade and investment web page:
Government procurement web page:
ENVIRONMENT
EU position: Trade does have an impact on the environment. If we want to be true to the commitments given in numerous summits on sustainable development, we have to be ready to act on them in the WTO, too. But again, we have had to persuade people that this is not so much protectionism in disguise as ensuring that environmental considerations are not unfairly excluded from the WTO's work.
Decision to take in Cancun: the EU is calling on WTO members to agree in Cancun on the observership of UNEP and of the Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) to the WTO Trade and Environment negotiations and to intensify work on environmental labelling. Also in this field, the draft declaration needs significant improvement.
For further information:
Trade and environment web page:
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
EU position: Some products are unique because of where they are produced ('champagne’, ‘parma ham’, ‘stilton cheese’, ‘basmati rice’): their origin determines their characteristic qualities and their added value. Thus, the geographical indication is a guarantee to the consumer of quality and taste and for the producers the reputation of their product is safe. EU exports of products with geographical indications amount to €20 to €40 billion per year and sustain 1.5 million jobs. Many developing countries also have potential GIs to protect and to export. The EU, together with a group of WTO Members, including several developing countries, deems that this enhanced protection should be extended to other agricultural products such as foodstuffs (rice, cheese, hams, teas…), handicraft and other industrial goods. In addition, the EU believes that GI protection could generally be made more effective through a multilateral system of notification and registration, given that today, protection needs to be sought on a country-by-country basis. As this is costly and cumbersome, WTO Members agreed to set up a multilateral register system by the time of the Cancun conference.
Decision to take in Cancun: Cancun should confirm the outcome of the negotiations on the multilateral register on wines and spirits, take forward the negotiations on the extension of additional protection to other products and in the context of the agriculture negotiations ensure that a number of EU geographical indications currently used in other countries are protected from usurpation.
For further information:
TRIPs web page:
The EU is taking the lead to make Cancun a success
The importance the EU attaches to the Cancun conference is underscored by the Council conclusions of 21 July 2003, which renew the Member States’ support for the Commission's approach and demonstrates to other WTO partners the EU's political commitment.
Support for a successful Cancun conference and for a comprehensive and ambitious outcome of the DDA continues to grow among WTO members. Traditional partners such as Japan and the US are firmly in support of the Cancun conference but an increasing number of developing countries - whose importance and weight in the WTO continue to grow - are putting their full weight behind the process thus adding significantly to the overall momentum behind the DDA.
In this final phase towards Cancun, EU will continue to build alliances and work together with a very broad range of both developed and developing countries and take initiatives with key partners. Cancun will only be a success if it meets the expectations of all WTO members.