Nations need mandate to continue work on Doha Development Agenda: China Official

BUENOS AIRES: Countries need a mandate to continue their work on the Doha Development Agenda going ahead as there is no implication of future Geneva work in its absence, China’s trade envoy to the WTO Xiangchen Zhang said in an interview. As the eleventh ministerial conference (MC 11) of the World Trade Organization collapsed and the chances of a ministerial declaration appeared dim, he said this would not have an implication on future Geneva work.

“Because when we meet there, the mandate to continue may not work. I can’t work on NAMA, services, rules...without mandate. US will say no,” he said. “If you say I had the mandate in Nairobi, the US could say no, you did not repeat it in Buenos Aires. So that is the critical point. We have to fight to the last minute for that,” the envoy said. The backtracking by the US made India push for a legal backing to the Bali Peace Clause of 2013 and the subsequent Geneva decision of 2014 on the permanency of the Peace Clause.

Experts said it wants a change in rules in the dispute settlement understanding to ensure that no country is allowed to take any other to dispute for providing product-specific support even if it exceeds the limit mandated by WTO as long as it meets the prescribed prerequisites.