Ireland donates EUR 455,000 to strengthen trade capacity of poorest members
Ireland donates EUR 455,000 to strengthen trade capacity of poorest members
Ireland donates EUR 455,000 to strengthen trade capacity of poorest members
Ireland is donating EUR 455,000 (CHF 555,300) to strengthen the trade capacity of the poorest WTO members. Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said “this contribution illustrates Ireland’s commitment to help developing countries, including the least-developed countries, make full use of the multilateral trading system”.
Ireland is donating EUR 185,000 (CHF 228,000) for 2013 to help developing countries improve their expertise and capacity to analyse and implement international standards on food safety and animal and plant health.
Through a second donation of EUR 150,000 (CHF 185,000), Ireland will assist least-developed countries, low‑income developing countries and small and vulnerable economies build their capacity in areas related to trade policy.
Another donation of EUR 50,000 (CHF 61,700) will go to the Trade Facilitation National Needs Assessment to identify key areas for further simplifying the movement of goods across borders in developing countries.
A final donation of EUR 70,000 (about CHF 86,400) will be allocated to support the effective participation of least-developed countries in the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference.
“I welcome these donations, particularly at this opportune moment just weeks before the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali. This contribution illustrates Ireland’s commitment to help developing countries, including the least-developed countries, make full use of the multilateral trading system”, declared WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo.
Patricia O’Brien, Ambassador of Ireland, stated that “Since 2002 Ireland has continuously supported WTO trade-related technical assistance to developing and least-developed countries. These donations underscore our commitment to assisting developing countries in expanding their trading capacities and using the potential of trade as a strong engine for development, growth and poverty reduction. They also seek to support a successful 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in December which has the potential to deliver positive outcomes, particularly for developing countries.”
This new donation brings Ireland’s total contributions to the various WTO Trust Funds since 2002 up to EUR 8,741,000 (CHF 10,786,000).
DG Azevêdo is due to report to the final General Council meeting before Bali — on 21 November — on progress in his consultations.
WTO ambassadors resumed consultations on Section II of a draft agreement on trade facilitation. This section provides the basis for special and differential treatment and for technical assistance and capacity building needed for the implementation of the agreement.
In agriculture, members are focusing on proposals about reducing export subsidies and related policies known collectively as “export competition”, reducing the chances that the methods used to share out a particular type of quota among traders become trade barriers in their own right, on how to deal with developing countries’ food stockholding for food security when the purchases could distort trade, on adding a number of environmental and development services to the list of programmes considered not to distort trade and therefore allowed without limit, and on cotton produced by least-developed countries (LDCs).
On development, members have agreed proposals by LDCs on preferential rules of origin and on operationalization of the services waiver for them. Work continues on duty-free, quota free treatment for LDCs. Members are also consulting on a monitoring mechanism for special and differential treatment for developing countries under WTO agreements.
DG Azevêdo has stressed that the negotiations for a Bali package must be concluded in Geneva before the Ministerial Conference. He told the Trade Negotiations Committee on 12 November that “one of the clearest messages from my consultations with members is that Bali must not be a negotiating conference”.