On the conclusion of the three-day Ministerial meeting, the Cairns Group on Wednesday issued 'Lahore Communiqué', which said that it wants a good deal at the next Doha Round to make it a success within the given timeframe.
Cairns Group Chairman Warren Truss and Pakistan's Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar read out the 'Lahore Communiqué' at a press conference here and termed the outcome of the meeting as highly encouraging, saying that the three-day talks were a great success.
The Communiqué said that Cairns Group met in Lahore to access the Doha Development Agenda and to consider how it can contribute to make the next round of talks a success. The Communiqué said that action was needed now to avoid putting the Round at grave risk of drifting indefinitely, or even failing. Nevertheless, a successful conclusion may be within Cairns Group's reach, particularly if substantial progress can be made in the weeks ahead.
It added that enormous global potential of Doha Development Agenda could be fully realised only with the participation of the WTO members. It said the member countries need high level political engagement from the members to deliver on the development of the Round.
It said that Cairns Group remains committed to securing an ambitious and successful conclusion of the Round and is firmly resolved to continue to make constructive and positive contribution to the negotiations. It added that Cairns Group was also committed to work with all the members, the Director General, and the Chair of the agriculture negotiations to support the multinational process. The Communiqué called on all member countries to engage fully and apply maximum flexibility in the on-going process in Geneva.
It said that the failure to conclude the Doha Round would represent a major blow for development of agriculture trade reforms and for multinational trade system in general. It sounded a warning that successful outcome of the Doha Round was subject to substantial package of reforms on agriculture.
It maintained that as the members responsible for the greatest distortions in global agriculture trade, EU, US, and Japan must do more to give effect to the far-reaching mandate for agriculture reforms. They must come forward with concrete contribution, without delay. It demanded that they must take the opportunity to strengthen, and deepen, liberalisation in the WTO, with domestic reforms included, through the next US Farm Bill and scheduled reviews of the Common Agriculture Policy.
The Communiqué added that now it is time for the member countries, particularly those with highest levels of agricultural support and protection, to show maximum flexibility in order to meet the mandate. It added that the opportunity presented by the Doha Round "is simply too important to be lost".
It said that in this regard Cairns Group members commend their recent proposal on 'Sensitive Products' and on 'Tropical and Alternative Products'. It said the Group was committed to work on other issues in order to stimulate progress in the negotiations. The Communiqué said Cairns Group agreed to build up the work through a new Lahore Agenda for the future. It maintained that through this work programme the Group would work to ensure that it can move swiftly to the end game of the Round and that outcomes are in line with the Round's strong reforms mandate.
It also said that the Cairns Group would work with other WTO members to achieve convergence on the main parameters in each of the three pillars--market access, domestic support, and export competition--including special and differential treatment provisions.
On market access, it said this would require tariff cuts sufficiently deep in each tier to generate new commercial opportunities. These cuts require in addition to average tariff cuts, which are also equally important to ensure substantial improvement in market access for all products. The treatment of Sensitive Products must be transparent, coherent, and equitable. It said this would require a formula which would allow limited deviation from general formula for a limited number of products, compensated by substantial MFN and TRQ expansion on the basis of domestic consumption.
The Communiqué said that market access would also require that Cairns Group should meet the longstanding commitment and mandate to achieve the fullest liberalisation of tropical and alternative products. It maintained that Cairns Group would work with all members for onwards convergence on the issue of Special Products and Special Safeguards Mechanism for developing countries.
It added that in domestic support substantial cuts to Overall Trade Distorting Support and to the Final Total AMS must be deep and harmonising and must achieve effective cuts. It maintained that meaningful disciplines, especially product-specific caps, were needed to prevent large fluctuations in distorting support and fluctuation of distorting support on individual products. It said that effective disciplines on Blue Box support were needed to prevent box-shifting without significant reform.
It said a significantly improved mechanism on monitoring and surveillance was needed to ensure transparency of members' domestic policies. It said Cairns Group members support the agreement reached in Hong Kong that trade distorting subsidies for cotton production should be reduced more ambitiously than under general formula to be agreed and implemented over a shorter period of time than general application.
It noted that Cairns Group agreed to an ambitious end date for all reforms of export subsidies. To be effective, this would require strong parallel discipline to identify and eliminate other forms of export subsidies and implement the Hong Kong mandate on cotton.
The Communiqué also said it would require front-loaded implementation of the phase-out of export subsidies on the basis of volume and value of the products. The Communiqué added that Cairns Group would continue to contribute ideas on how the reforms can be negotiated. It said this was an urgent need to lay down building blocks for meaningful results in all three pillars.
It noted that Cairns Group instructed its officials to develop further practical proposals that would allow for fair and meaningful outcomes. It added that Cairns Group also instructed its officials to work towards finding common ground with other members and negotiating groups.
The Communiqué welcomed Peru as member of Cairns Group. In discussion with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, Japan and official representative of EC and US appreciated the presence and support Cairns Group achieved from Farm Leaders who participated in one of the Group's meetings.
They said that developing countries have already done work on their part by cutting down tariff for agriculture sector and now it was the developed nations' turn toe respond in the same spirit. They also noted that 2/3 cut by developing nations vis-à-vis developed nations 100 percent would be sufficient.
In response to a query, Truss said Japan's high tariff for Pakistan was unfair and Cairns Group wants such trade barriers to be dropped and give more market success to the developing nations.
Humayun said that Pakistan had already put in place a low tariff mechanism and it was going to provide better opportunities to its farmers to get more share in the international market in liberalised trade regime.
APP adds: The three-day Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting concluded urging the European Union, the US and Japan to do much more to help end distortions in global agricultural trade.
"Much more is expected from the developed countries than the developing nations; yet every country has to make their contribution," Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss told a news conference at the end of the Ministerial Meeting.
Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar and trade and agriculture ministers from Uruguay, Thailand, South Africa, Philippines, Peru, Paraguay, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Columbia, Chile, Canada, Brazil and Argentina were also present on the occasion.
About the possibility of a breakthrough in the ongoing Doha Development Agenda talks, Warren Truss said that there was a commitment from Presidents and Prime Ministers to keep the process of dialogue moving towards a positive outcome.
Asked whether the Doha Round would be completed by the end of this year, he said that it would be too optimistic to hope for. However, he added that there might be a consensus among the countries on some critical issues by that time.
The Australian Minister said that the end of domestic and export subsidies, coupled with enhanced market access, would enable farmers to sell their products in the global market fairly and freely. He said that the Cairns Group "is a unique mix" of developed and developing nations with agriculture sector of big and small sizes.
He expressed hope that the outcome of the Doha Development Agenda Round would be the liberalisation of agricultural trade, beneficial for both the developing and the developed nations.
Responding to a question, Truss said that Japan is the biggest importer of rice, and added that high tariffs are affecting imports from countries like Pakistan. "We are expecting Japan to increase market access by bringing down the tariff," he said. Terming the 31st Ministerial meeting a successful event, Truss thanked the people and the government of Pakistan for their hospitality to the delegates to the moot.
Humayun said that Cairns Group's Lahore Ministerial meeting had taken place at a very critical time. He said that agriculture exporting countries, both developed and developing, could gain enormously from liberalisation of agriculture.
"We are very affected by what is happening in the international agriculture trade. Elimination of subsidies and increased market access will help improve the economic wellbeing of the people, especially the farming community," he said.
Referring to tariff peaks for textiles and apparels, he expressed hope that the Doha Round would also take care of this problem effectively. He said that Special Products paper presented by Pakistan was aimed at special safeguards for special products from the developing countries. "Special Products' paper is neither of G-33 nor G-20. It is purely Pakistan's paper," he added.
He said that a positive outcome of the Doha Round would help improve economic conditions in Pakistan. New Zealand Minister for Trade Phil Goff said that New Zealand had a very protected agriculture sector till the year 1994, while now "it is very open".
"Our farmer now does not get subsidies," he said, and added that there were enormous benefits of agriculture liberalisation, especially the elimination of subsidies and enhanced market access. Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson also presented his country's point of view on the issue of sensitive items while reiterating support to the Doha Development Agenda Round.
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