Build up to the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference

Abstract

The World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold its ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9) this year at Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 6 December. The intention is that MC9 would not be a mere ‘housekeeping Ministerial’, but that it would produce some substantive results, especially in areas that are being negotiated as part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). This is in keeping with the general recognition among WTO members that alternative negotiating approaches to conclude the DDA will have to be explored, including the possibility of trying to forge consensus on a select set of issues, before the full conclusion of the negotiations. Members have started reflecting on possible deliverables at the Bali Ministerial. These include, inter alia, the ongoing negotiations to finalise an agreement on Trade Facilitation, some aspects of agriculture negotiations, and certain key development issues. It is in the context of the latter that there seems to be a growing recognition that the Bali Ministerial must also pronounce itself on a number of least developed country (LDC) issues and the LDC Group in Geneva has increasingly started to focus its attention on what is being termed as an 'LDC package for Bali'.