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1. Adoption of the Agenda
2. Statement by the Director
3. Discussion on Trade Committee medium-term strategy
4. Policy dialogue with BIAC
5. Medium-term strategy and preparation of the Trade Session of the 2007 Ministerial Council Meeting
6. State of the DDA negotiations
7. Policy forum: Trade and labour market adjustment
8. Preparations for the in-depth evaluation of the Trade Committee
9. Work in progress
10. Other business
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2. Statement by the Director
The Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate will address the Trade Committee on relevant matters.
3. Discussion on Trade Committee medium-term strategy
Following a preliminary exchange of views at its 144th Session in June 2006, the Trade Committee held a discussion in October 2006 at its 145th Session on its strategic priorities, with a view to enhancing its relevance, based on a paper prepared by the Chair of the Working Party of the Trade Committee in consultation with the Bureau of the Working Party and the Secretariat. In December 2006, the Working Party met informally to discuss a paper prepared by the Secretariat as input to the reflection process. On 20 February a meeting of the enlarged Bureau of the Trade Committee will be held to continue to move forward on this important issue.
Delegates are invited to continue discussions on developing the Trade Committee medium-term strategy, which will be prepared following the 20 February meeting, with a view to clarifying the substantive policy priorities to be pursued over the coming period.
4. Policy dialogue with BIAC
In December 2006, BIAC submitted two documents to the Trade Committee, one on “BIAC Priorities for the OECD Trade Work Programme” and one with a work proposal on a “Mechanism for Resolving Non-tariff Barriers in the WTO”. In the context of the Trade Committee’s reflection on the medium-term priorities and the current state of negotiations in Geneva, it is timely to hold an exchange of views between the business community and the Trade Committee.
5. Medium-term strategy and preparation of the Trade Session of the 2007 Ministerial Council Meeting
In view of the morning’s discussion and taking into account the dialogue with BIAC, Delegates are invited to wrap up discussions on strategy and discuss how they could feed into the Trade Session of the MCM.
6. State of the DDA negotiations
In the context of latest developments, Delegates are invited to briefly discuss prospects for completing and implementing the Doha round.
7. Policy forum: Trade and labour market adjustment
As agreed by the Council, ongoing work in the Secretariat on part three of the Globalisation and Structural Adjustment Project (GSA III) is studying labour market adjustments to globalisation. Freer trade is a source of substantial potential gains in income and welfare. At the same time, the nature of the adjustment process may be changing as a result of new technology, which makes it possible to fragment production and outsource certain tasks. This process often entails adjustment difficulties for workers who lose their jobs and need to shift to expanding sectors or occupations. If not properly addressed, these difficulties may serve to fuel arguments against further liberalisation espoused by certain groups. This raises the issue of how governments can ensure that the benefits of freer trade are enhanced and take appropriate action to help workers face adjustment.
Picking up on suggestions concerning new formats for discussion, this item is organised as a policy forum in the context of the Trade Committee's regular session. TUAC has been invited to participate, as part of its periodic exchange of views with the Committee. The Secretariat will give a powerpoint presentation on the early results from GSA III. A short issues paper will be prepared to facilitate the exchange of views on this topic. One Delegation and TUAC will provide initial comments to lead into the discussion.
8. Preparations for the in-depth evaluation of the Trade Committee
Following a decision by Council, all Committees are now subject to a periodic in-depth evaluation. The Trade Committee’s evaluation is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2007, in the context of the expiry of its mandate on 31 December 2008.
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