G20 verklaring over de WTO-top (20 juli 2008)

G20 Ministerial Communiqué
Geneva, 20 July 2008

The Ministers and Senior Officials of the G-20 met in Geneva on 20 July 2008
to discuss their approach to this decisive moment of the Doha Round. They
reaffirmed that the unity of the G-20, as on previous occasions, would allow
it to continue to be a major driving force in the agriculture negotiations.
The Group remains firmly committed to a result that lives up to the Doha
Mandate, in particular the common goal of eliminating the trade-distorting
policies maintained by developed countries

The G-20 has consistently stressed the centrality of Agriculture in the Doha
Round. Agriculture will determine the level of ambition of the Development
Agenda. This is a political imperative deriving from the Doha Mandate to
place Agriculture and Development at the heart of the multilateral trading
system.

Developed countries are accountable for the main distortions and
restrictions in agriculture trade and policies. At this critical juncture of
the DDA and of the global economy, developed countries must show from the
start of negotiations that they are prepared to live up to their
responsibilities of reform by delivering on the Mandate for substantial
reductions in trade-distorting domestic support; for substantial
improvements in market access; for the elimination of all export subsidies.

The Ministers and Senior Officials stressed that a substantial outcome must
be achieved in the three pillars of the negotiation. The multilayered nature
of the distorting policies applied by developed countries requires
comprehensive solutions in Domestic Support, Market Access and Export
Competition:

*        On Domestic Support, it will be necessary to achieve effective cuts
in the Overall Trade-Distorting Domestic Support (OTDS), taking into account
the change in the pattern of world prices and its impact on current level of
domestic support; equally essential are credible and effective
product-specific disciplines to avoid concentration of expenditures, with
deeper and more expeditious commitments for Cotton; disciplines to ensure
that green box policies have no, or at most minimal, effects on production
and that green programmes of interest to developing countries are addressed;

*        On Market Access, developed countries must deliver an outcome that
fulfills the Doha Mandate for substantial improvements in market access and
the Hong Kong Mandate for balance between Agriculture and NAMA (Paragraph
24). The formula for tariff cuts must be ambitious, particularly on the top
band, and the minimum average cut of 54% must be respected, in line with the
G-20 proposal. The tariff capping must be effective and apply for both
sensitive and non-sensitive products. Developed countries must show results
of meaningful TRQ expansion that effectively compensate for the deviation
from the formula cut for sensitive products. The G-20 remains firmly against
the creation of new TRQs, which would be a step backwards in the objective
of long-term reform in Agriculture. The G-20 stressed its firm position on
the elimination of the SSG for developed countries from the beginning of the
implementation period. Conversion of all agricultural tariffs to simple ad
valorem terms, in line with the G-20 proposal, is essential to ensure
transparency, predictability, and the overall balance in market access.
Modalities must also effectively deliver on the mandate for Tropical and
Alternative Products, Tariff Escalation, and Preference Erosion, as well as
effectively address the particular concerns of RAMs and SVEs.

*        On Export Competition, the end period agreed in Hong Kong for the
elimination of all forms of export subsidies must be respected. The G-20
recalled the need to reach effective disciplines that address developing
countries’ concerns on Food Aid, STEs and Export Credits. The concerns of
the NFIDCs must be fully addressed

*        The Ministers and Senior Officials also emphasized the importance of
a strengthened and improved Monitoring & Surveillance mechanism to ensure
compliance with new commitments and disciplines.

*        The Ministers and Senior Officials underscored the importance of
making Special and Differential (S&D) treatment operative and integral to
the negotiations in the three pillars. They also stressed the importance of
overall proportionality in commitments. They emphasized the vital role of
SPs, in addressing the food security, rural development and livelihood
concerns of developing countries, and of the SSM.

*        Transparency is an essential element to modalities. Required data in
the three pillars must be provided by developed countries in advance.

The G-20 will approach and assess the negotiations this week by reference to
these parameters. The Ministers and Senior Officials emphasised the
imperative of balance within and between different areas of the
negotiations, in line with the principle of special and differential
treatment. They also emphasized that the number of flexibilities for
developed countries in the current Draft Modalities, which are intended to
preserve distortive policy space in domestic support and market access, must
be significantly reduced.

The G-20 is ready to work constructively with all WTO Members to reach full
modalities in Agriculture by the end of this week. The G-20 will continue to
work closely with other developing country groups to ensure an outcome that
delivers on the development dimension of the Doha Round.