2024-03-01 23:19:59
The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi ended without any major breakthroughs on key negotiating topics. Above all, there was no consensus regarding a planned fisheries agreement that would have promoted the reduction of harmful subsidies and better protection of fish stocks. After all, the moratorium on the application of tariffs to digital trade has been extended for another two years.
The ministerial meeting, which was originally supposed to have ended on Thursday, was overshadowed by increasing geopolitical tensions, the difficult state of the global economy and warnings of protectionism. “Some things were successful, others were not,” summed up WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who praised the willingness of the participating nations to negotiate despite the meager results. The conference laid the foundation for initiatives that will be pursued further in the near future, said the economist.
What will soon be addressed is the reform of the dispute settlement mechanism, which has been paralyzed for years – actually the heart of the WTO. Okonjo-Iweala explained at the final press conference that significant progress would be made in 2024. The discussions at the meeting were constructive.
Through WTO dispute settlement, governments can defend themselves once morest what they consider to be unfair trading practices of other countries. The long-standing dispute between the USA and the EU over subsidies for Airbus and Boeing was settled there. But the USA finds the referees too aggressive. The accusation is that they interfered in trade policy instead of purely checking compliance with WTO law. The USA has therefore been preventing the appointment of new arbitrators for the appeals body for years.
Particularly from an Austrian perspective, dispute resolution is of considerable importance, as participants at the conference in Abu Dhabi emphasized to the APA. The system guarantees structured dispute resolution procedures in trade conflicts and the opportunity for smaller states to assert their interests once morest economically more powerful counterparties.
The initially failed pact on fishing should hurt Austria less. In contrast, the e-commerce moratorium, which has existed since 1998 and has been consistently updated since then, is of greater importance for domestic companies and consumers. Essentially, the WTO states are committing themselves not to levy tariffs on goods and services that are delivered purely electronically – for example, licenses purchased online or streaming services. Consumers will therefore not have to fear tariffs on Netflix and Co in the future.
Rule-making in the WTO is generally considered difficult due to the principle of unanimity. The WTO currently has 166 states, with two new members being welcomed at the start of the conference: East Timor and the Comoros. Austria has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1995.
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