Ever since the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) encountered serious obstacles four years ago, parliaments of WTO Member States have been using annual sessions of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO as a testing ground for ideas on how to conclude the Round swiftly in the interest of equitable global trade and development. The Conference is a permanent mechanism of parliamentary oversight of the WTO and is its de facto parliamentary dimension. The body ensuring the smooth functioning of the Conference is its Steering Committee, composed of representatives of some 25 national parliaments and regional parliamentary assemblies and structures.
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As reported by the WTO, the current economic crisis has resulted in a significant retraction of international trade, accompanied by a wave of protectionist measures. To analyse the new challenges from a parliamentary perspective, the IPU and the European Parliament initiated the holding of a parliamentary panel on the theme "Can protectionism protect trade? The legislator's perspective". The panel was part of this year's WTO Public Forum - an annual public event where participants from government, parliament, civil society, the business sector, academia and the media jointly reflect on the functioning of the multilateral trading system.
What is the responsibility of parliaments in the face of trade-restricting measures taken by other countries that appear to be merely shifting their problems to their neighbours? What room for manoeuvre is there for legislators to support national producers without awakening the demons of all-out protectionism? What is the role of the WTO in monitoring trade-restricting measures taken in the context of the economic crisis? These questions were at the core of a lively exchange of views that took place among the 200 participants to the parliamentary panel on 30 September. The findings of the panel will be included in the report on the WTO Public Forum 2009, to be published by the WTO Secretariat.
The discussion that started at the parliamentary panel was continued the following day, when the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO held its 19th regular session at the IPU Headquarters. The Committee was briefed on recent developments in the Doha Round by the current Chairman of the WTO General Council, Ambassador Mario Matus of Chile. Referring to the forthcoming seventh WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in Geneva from 30 November to 2 December 2009, the Ambassador said that "the road would not be an easy one and at times would most certainly be bumpy". The last top-level WTO Conference took place in Hong Kong almost four years ago.
To encourage parliamentary participation in the Ministerial Conference, the Steering Committee decided to hold its own enlarged session on 1 December 2009, in parallel with the WTO Conference. The session is intended to provide members of parliament with information on the main issues and orientations of the Ministerial Conference, meet with trade ministers, WTO officials and key negotiators, and exchange views on ways to revitalize the Doha Round.
Global trade and the WTO remain long-term priorities of the IPU and its Member Parliaments.
