Buenos Aires WTO summit ends with no major accomplishments
The Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference adjourned in Buenos Aires today without any major progress made other than vocal criticisms of global trade and the entity itself. Smaller trade proposals on e-commerce and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing which were expected to move forward, could not be reached.
“Members cannot even agree to stop subsidizing illegal fishing. Horrendous” European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. Malmström also criticized “several large countries” who exhibited destructive behavior made results “impossible.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer remarked that “some members are intentionally circumventing obligations” and that the US is pushing for a discussion on the need to correct the “sad performance” in transparency.
Lighthizer issued a joint statement with Japan's Economy Minister, Hiroshige Seko, admonishing China to combat market-distorting policies that have long been customary in the Asian giant such as subsidies for state-owned enterprises.
U.S. continued its refusal to appoint new judges to the seven-person WTO appellate body; there are two current vacancies on the bench and one due to open at the end of this month. By withholding these appointments, the U.S. has the potential to bring transnational trade disputes to a standstill - a move seen by many of the 164 WTO members as strong-arming other countries into more America-centric policies in line with President Donald Trump’s world view.
Negotiations collapsed quickly at that point. The inability to reach even minor goals means that WTO negotiations will likely drag on into 2018 without a hard deadline in sight.
The failure of the WTO conference - as well as similarly stalled talks between the Mercosur trade bloc and the EU - had local political implications as well, denying the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration a much-sought public relations win.
President Macri, a vocal advocate of free-trade policies, instead came under heavy criticism for banning representatives of 26 international NGOs from attending.
WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell reiterated the WTO's disagreement with Argentina’s decision to revoke activists’ credentials. “We didn’t have the same perspective (as Macri) but we’re now moving on,” he said.
Petter Titland of the Norweigan NGO Attac Norge, who was detained and deported upon arrival, was allowed entry two days later following a media uproar.
"My visit must have been inconvenient to Macri from a political point of view," Titland acknowledged. His NGO monitors offshore banking and money laundering.
At: http://www.thebubble.com/wto-summit-ends-with-no-major-accomplishments/
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