145th Session of the Trade Committee - Summary

The OECD Trade Committee provides senior trade policy officials of OECD Member countries and several observer countries the opportunity for a wide-ranging exchange on key trade policy issues and developments. It held its 145th Session on 16-17 October 2006 in Paris (agenda of the 145th Session of the Trade Committee).

The meeting began with a discussion on the state of play in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations in Geneva, since the suspension of the talks in July. The Chair opened the discussion by noting that time was running out for the resumption and successful completion of the DDA. He noted the discrepancy between the significant degree of reform and liberalisation underway world-wide and what the formal negotiations themselves had been able to achieve thus far, inviting Delegates to explore ways to bridge this gap. Delegates indicated that they remained committed to the multilateral trading system and the DDA, and agreed that it was still possible to resume the round and achieve an ambitious and balanced outcome. They welcomed the many expressions of political will to get the negotiations back on track since the suspension, but recognised that so far, those expressions had not translated into concrete actions. They indicated that the informal discussions that had been ongoing since the suspension were a positive sign, but recognised that this needed to be linked to an agreed process in Geneva. They agreed that the costs of failure to complete the round would be large, with poor countries standing to lose the most, and noted that this was increasingly being recognised by all WTO members. Finally, it was agreed that there was no room for complacency and that a resumption of the negotiations would have to be backed by hard work in all negotiating areas to ensure success.

In relation to the preceding discussion, the Trade Committee also reflected on its medium-term priorities and ways to enhance its contribution to strengthening the multilateral trading system. This included both possible themes for future study, as well as the consideration of various types of working methods. This reflection will continue in the coming months.

The Trade Committee was updated on developments on work on aid for trade. They welcomed the WTO General Council’s recent endorsement of the recommendations of the interagency Task Force on aid for trade and thanked the OECD for its contribution to the Task Force’s work. The Secretariat presented proposals for further work on aid for trade in 2007-2008, which would be carried out jointly by the Trade Committee and the Development Assistance Committee. The proposals focused on three areas: raising awareness of the importance of trade for growth; improving the design and implementation of aid for trade programmes; and developing tools for global monitoring and evaluation, based on the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. This work would be complemented by efforts to enhance the joint WTO-OECD database on trade-related technical assistance and capacity building. The Committee expressed its support for the proposed work programme, and agreed that a sense of ownership by recipient countries would be critical in making aid for trade effective. Future work on aid for trade will also be discussed at an upcoming policy dialogue event to take place on 6-7 November in Doha, Qatar.

The Trade Committee also held a discussion on recent international developments in the area of trade facilitation and the OECD contribution to this work. Delegates agreed that trade facilitation had been one area where the DDA negotiations had been progressing constructively, with active participation from a wide range of countries, and indicated that it was important maintain this momentum during the suspension. They thanked the OECD Secretariat for its contributions in recent years, both in terms of analysis and outreach to developing countries. Delegates indicated several areas where the OECD could continue to make a contribution; these included further analysis on costs and benefits of trade facilitation, outreach and capacity building, self-assessment, work on clarifying concepts and confidence-building.

The Netherlands Delegation reported to the Trade Committee on a seminar it had organised in Rotterdam on 26 September on the theme of “Corporate Social Responsibility in Production and International Trade”.

The seminar had attracted more than 120 participants from government, business and consumer organisations for an interactive dialogue on key issues in the CSR debate.

The Trade Committee will hold its next meeting on 8-9 March 2007.