19th January 2009, ICTSD
Lamy Sets Out Agenda for 2009
Looking forward to 2009 in his end-of-the-year speech to the WTO membership, Director-General Pascal Lamy agreed that it could be a ‘useful exercise’ to brainstorm over “issues which are beyond the scope of the negotiations but which relate to areas interfacing the WTO,” as some Members had expressed the desire to do, but cautioned that this should not “distract us from our main objective of advancing the round.”
Beyond the Doha Round, he proposed that Members focus on three broad areas of work
- following up on the trade measures - i.e. tariff increases or other barriers imposed by Members - in the wake of the financial crisis;
- reviewing developments in trade finance; and
- developing a ‘clear roadmap’ for work on Aid for Trade, culminating with a second Global Review before the summer break.
Members should also discuss the next regular mandated WTO Ministerial Conference, which in Mr Lamy’s sense need not be “the big jamboree we have seen in the past, but rather a venue where Members take a strategic look at the future and steps to advance the goals of the organisation.”