General Council Chair welcomes “significant progress” in dispute settlement reform talks

The General Council Chair noted the significant amount of work done during the last six months, which included approximately 170 hours of plenary technical meetings. Summarizing the progress made thus far, he said members have now a draft negotiating document on appeal/review reforms that would narrows claims reviewable on appeal/review, clarify adjudicators' roles with respect to reviewing a panel's objective assessment of facts, improve the interim review stage for error correction, and reinforce adherence to procedural timeframes.

While this progress is positive, "I encourage members to find a pathway towards reconciling their different interests and concerns on core issues, including the form that an appeal/review mechanism should take and what its role should be," the Chair said.

On accessibility, Ambassador Ølberg emphasized that members have a near-final draft chapter addressing capacity building and technical assistance. The text recognises developing members' needs, instructs the WTO Secretariat to undertake additional tailored activities and support, establishes a dialogue between members and the Secretariat, and introduces a review and reporting mechanism to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), he said.

The Chair added that the more contentious issue of "Costs and Funding" has also seen significant progress, with a first draft table now produced capturing the interests and concerns of members.

Regarding the way forward, Ambassador Ølberg said he intends to hold consultations with interested delegations early next year to hear views on how to build on progress made in a manner that would further advance dispute settlement reform work.

More than 40 members took the floor to comment on the Chair's statement and the way forward.

The Director-General said that even though the reform work was not completed this year as mandated, a considerable amount of work has been done and that members should be commended for this progress. "Sometimes the race takes a long time to run," she said, adding that it was important to keep up the momentum next year.

Ambassador Ølberg concluded by saying there seems to be agreement that members have made progress, a recognition that members have not yet achieved the mandate given to them, and that broad support existed for him to undertake consultations when members come back next year.

WTO retreat on development

The Chair noted that on 16 January the WTO will organize a retreat on development. The theme of the retreat will be "Trade as a tool for development and way forward." The Chair said his hope is that members have an open, frank and forward-looking conversation where they achieve three objectives: come to a common understanding of what the challenges and opportunities are; identify actionable ideas for what should be done in the WTO to address these; and suggest concrete next steps on how to proceed from here.

The retreat will take place in Geneva and will be held at Heads of Delegation level.

Fisheries subsidies

For the ongoing negotiations on additional provisions on fisheries subsidies, India requested four of its submissions be put on the General Council agenda for discussion. At the meeting, India noted that its concerns are articulated in the four documents and sought members' further exchanges in a structured format.

In her report as Trade Negotiations Committee Chair, DG Okonjo-Iweala recalled that Iceland had withdrawn two draft decisions related to fisheries subsidies from the GC agenda. The decision was based on the report of the Chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland, who stated that discussions among members have reached a stalemate even though nearly all members could support the current text as a basis for conclusion.

DG Okonjo-Iweala said: "That was the right thing to do to give adequate time to those members who have some reservations to consult with other members. I want to reassure you; this is alive and well. We do intend in the new year to keep this going."

DG Okonjo-Iweala also noted that the entry into force of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted by members by consensus at the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022, is "within shouting distance." Ambassador Salomon Eheth presented Cameroon's instrument of acceptance to DG Okonjo-Iweala at the GC meeting on 16 December, bringing to 88 the total number of WTO members that have formally accepted the Agreement.

Twenty-three more formal acceptances are needed for the Agreement to come into effect. DG Okonjo-Iweala said formal acceptances from ten more members are expected soon in the new year, which will bring the total to 98.

Investment facilitation

On investment facilitation for development (IFD), members were unable once more to reach consensus on the request supported by 126 members to incorporate the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement under Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement.

The co-coordinators of the negotiations, Ambassador Sofía Boza of Chile and Ambassador Jung Sung Park of the Republic of Korea, noted that preparations are underway for the next stage of discussions, including the establishment of a dedicated facilitators group to improve internal coordination among co-sponsors and to conduct a dialogue with concerned members.

A group of developing members took the floor to express their support to the IFD Agreement as a pivotal instrument for attracting sustainable investments, aligned with the WTO's ongoing reforms.

Opposing members highlighted their consistent stance against the proposal, citing divergences in views with regards the ministerial mandate on plurilateral initiatives. They said the Agreement would mainly benefit developed members and regretted that the request from proponents was again on the agenda for decision as there has been sufficient indication that consensus was not possible.

E-commerce

Members participating in the Joint Initiative on E-commerce introduced a communication submitted recently to the General Council proposing to incorporate the Agreement on E-commerce into theMarrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. The communication also envisages further negotiations to address outstanding issues. The participating members reiterated that the negotiations remain open to all members and expressed their commitment to maintain dialogue with all WTO members. Several members noted that they are still reviewing the communication.

A total of 91 WTO members are currently participating in these discussions accounting for over 90 per cent of global trade. The initiative is jointly co-convened by Australia, Japan and Singapore.

Cotton

DG Okonjo-Iweala presented her 11th periodic report on cotton development assistance. She described 2024 as a "transformative year" with significant progress and milestones. “We have achieved excellent results, both in terms of regular work under my consultative framework mechanism on cotton and special activities and initiatives,” she said.