UNCTAD
OVERVIEW OF THE DOHA
WORK PROGRAMME
ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED BY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Commercial Diplomacy Programme
UNCTAD
www.unctad.org/commdip
December 2001
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Doha Sets the “Stage” for the:
1- Continuation of the on-going negotiations on
the “built-in agenda”
2- Launching of new negotiations
3- Preparation of possible negotiations in new
issues
4- Resolution of the implementation issues.
Doha marked the beginning of a multilateral
negotiating process. As in soccer it could be
seen as the kick-off to the beginning of the
game.
End of the game: January 1st, 2005, ie: the
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The Work Programme Ahead is
complex and ambitious because of:
1. the variety of issues and the
implications for the trading system
deep
2. Different deadlines to achieve the mandates
3. Both “traditional” and “new issues” as well
as implementation issues
4. Important interface between the areas of
the
work
programme
(eg.
services/government
procurement;
TRIPS/transfer
of
technology;
AD/competition;
agriculture/environment,
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The Doha Conference sets the
“rules of the game” by adopting:
• The Ministerial Declaration, that sets the
« work Programme » of negotiations to be
completed by January 1st, 2005, and
• The Ministerial Decisions on the
implementation issues, TRIPS and public health,
the waiver for the ACP/EC post-Cotonou
agreements, and the waiver for the banana
regime (until 2005)
• An agreement to negotiate the
« outstanding » implementation issues (that are
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not specified in the Ministerial Decision on
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Some of the Decisions have
immediate effects:
• The agreed Decision on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) and Public Health largely reflects the
interests of developing countries and clarifies
the flexibilities provided by the TRIPS
Agreement
regarding
the
trading
of
medicines.
• The waiver for the ACP/EC post-Cotonou
agreements allows to start these ACP/EC
negotiations in a clear legal framework.
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The Work Programme contains a
number of “development-related
provisions” which reflect the
interests of developing countries
(1):
1. a commitment to the “objective of duty
free, quota free market access for products
originating in LDCs” (ie: The commitments of
the UN LDC III Conference were
reaffirmed. )
The Integrated Framework is considered as
a “viable model” for technical cooperation.
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The Work Programme contains a
number of “development-related
provisions” which reflect the
interests of developing countries
(2):
2. The Declaration and the Decisions contain
special and differential treatment provisions
in almost all the areas, including a specific
mandate on S/D to the WTO Committee on
Trade and Development.
3. New WTO working groups on Transfer of
technology and Trade, debt and finance
4. Technical cooperation
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The following are
examples of technical work to be
done to identify:
• The development content in the negotiations
• Operational special and differential
treatment provisions
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In agriculture:
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• Formulate provisions that materialise the
concept of « food security » (a
« development box »?)
• How to ensure the phasing out of export
subsidies, considering the different
developing countries’ needs?
In services:
• Identify measures that ensure the
movement of professionals (a « GATS
visa »?)
• Identify the market access barriers in
each sector of services
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In tariffs:
• Give a specific meaning to « less than
reciprocal » tariff reductions
• Take into account subregional
commitments to preserve regional trade
arrangements
In implementation issues:
• Almost all the issues raised by the Decision on
implementation refer to specific problems
identified by developing countries: each one of
these problems requires an agreed solution
• Many deadlines on implementation are 2002
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(crucial year in the process)
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The main mandates on the Builtin Agenda: Agriculture
The Ministerial Declaration sets new goals for
the negotiations in this area:
• Substantial improvement in market access,
• Phasing out all forms of export subsidies
• Substantial reductions in trade-distorting
domestic support
- Special and Differential Treatment Provisions to
be agreed by 31/03/03
- Draft Schedules: before 5th Ministerial
Conference (2003)
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The main Mandates on the Built-in
Agenda : Services
• Confirmation of the goals of article
XIX, ie. continue the liberalization of
trade in services
• Guidelines and Procedures, as adopted
in March 2001
• Article IV on special and differential
treatment
• Initial Requests to be submitted by: 30-06-02
• Initial Offers to be submitted by: 31-03-03
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Launching of new negotiations on:
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market access for non-agricultural
products;
 the
WTO rules
on: anti-dumping,
subsidies and countervailing measures,
regional agreements, fisheries subsidies;
 geographical
indications
in
the
framework of TRIPS;
 dispute settlement (improvements and
clarifications)

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Launching of new negotiations on:
Trade and Environment
• On the relations between the Multilateral
Environment Agreements (MEAs) and WTO Rules
• On the reduction or elimination of tariff and
non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and
services.
Note that the Preamble of the Declaration has a strong
language on the right of countries to adopt nondistortive trade measures for the protection of human,
animal or plant life or health, and of the environment
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"at the levels it considers appropriate”.
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The pre-negotiating stage
agreed on the « Singapore
issues »:
• trade and investment
• trade and competition policy
• transparency in government procurement
• trade facilitation
Members agreed that negotiations on these issues will
take place after the Fifth Session of the Ministerial
Conference 2003 on the basis of “a decision to be
taken, by explicit consensus, at that Session on
modalities of negotiations”.
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The pre-negotiating stage
agreed on the « Singapore
issues »:
The issues of investment and competition
have been subject of discussion in UNCTAD
since the 1970s .
The Doha Ministerial Declaration provides for a
specific role to UNCTAD in these areas:
It is an opportunity to define a concrete
development content to these issues from
the beginning of the negotiations
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The « new » Doha Issues
• Trade, Debt and Finance
• Trade and transfer of technology
As proposed by the developing countries, two new
WTO working groups will be established in these
areas.
Negotiations on these topics are not foreseen.
The formulation of the terms of reference of
these 2 working groups is crucial.
Both issues are linked to the UN Conference on Financing for
Development (Monterrey, March 2002), and to the implementation
of
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TRIPS.
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Final remarks
Is This Work Programme a
“Development Round”?
I.e.: Does this Work Programme provide
the potential to improve the multilateral
trading system so as to enable developing
countries to increase their share of world
trade and pursue development policies?
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Yes, Potential positive outcome could
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be achieved IF :
• Developing countries are successful in defining
clear objectives and negotiating proposals in each
topic.
• Developed countries provide resources for
effective technical cooperation and capacity
building.
• Developing countries ensure coherence among
the topics being negotiated from the point of
view of their development strategies.
• Effective, targeted and operational S&D
provisions are ensured in each topic.
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