Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar here on Wednesday called on the rich nations to end the discriminatory policies, which according to him are hurting exporters of developing countries.
"If exporters from rich countries pay 1 to 2 percent tariffs on their exports why exporters from developing countries have to pay many times more. It is special and differential treatment for exporters from the rich countries," he said while addressing the preliminary session of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference.
He said that although the WTO draft would help establish a good negotiating atmosphere, it would not yet be possible to make major advance in negotiations on its basis alone, and the text would need to be augmented to help finalise the "modalities". "And, we may have to wait for another opportunity to do so".
He said that much was at stake, here in Hong Kong, "and it is imperative to move the process forward, so that negotiators may reach ''66 percent'' target within weeks of this conference, and our objective of completing the Round in 2006 does not falter."
Humayun said that any further postponement of the round would have serious consequences, as the present leadership would be held responsible for failing to lift millions out of poverty and for depriving the world economy of potential gains of hundreds of billions of dollars.
"Our strength is that we all want further trade liberalisation. We all believe in the Doha mandate, even if we''ve re-calibrated our ambition for Hong Kong," he said, adding that the members "have within reach" the agreement on two out of three pillars in agriculture, namely domestic support, and export competition.
On cotton, he said, "all members are committed to an ambitious and expeditious result" and with some flexibility from a major economy for early harvest programme.
In the Non-Agriculture Market Access (Nama), he said, the member countries "have moved closer" and the fact was that they all were agreed to the use of a Swiss formula as a major step forward.
He said that advance in market access in agriculture must be matched by progress in market access for services and non-agricultural goods. He added that what the political leaders needed was to avoid brinkmanship at this stage.
The greatest gains for developing countries, he said, lay in liberalisation of Mode 4---the movement of natural persons. Any progress in services negotiations without any movement in this important area would be considered a reverse "special and differential treatment" for developed countries, he added.
While touching upon the issue of subsidies, he said that negotiations on anti-dumping, subsidies and regional trade agreements had intensified and deepened. "The countries have to ensure that negotiations in these areas keep pace with the rest, as all members know how protectionist lobbies can subvert elimination of unfair trade barriers."
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