Do Not Erode Preferences of Developing Countries - PM to WTO

DON'T ERODE PREFERENCES AGREED ON FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES'...PM Golding urges WTO:

Dateline: Geneva, Switzerland: Prime Minister Bruce Golding has urged the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Mr. Pascal Lamy, to ensure that the preferences agreed on last year for developing countries in the Doha Round of trade negotiations are not eroded when negotiations resume later this year.

The Prime Minister who met with Mr. Lamy at the WTO headquarters in Geneva this morning (June 15) noted that these agreements were not officially recorded because of the failure to reach agreement on the issue of bananas.

The PM also expressed concern about a proposal that the negotiations towards completion of the Doha Round should proceed at bilateral level on specific tariff reduction measures even before agreement is reached on the modalities for such reductions. Mr. Golding pointed out that such an approach would leave small economies at the mercy of major trading partners and would result in an inconsistent tariff structure with no underlying framework.

Noting that the biennial WTO Ministerial Meeting which should have been held in 2007 was not convened, the Prime Minister urged the Director-General to arrange a series of Mini-Ministerial meetings to work toward narrowing the differences on outstanding issues prior to the next Ministerial Meeting scheduled for November 2009.

The Prime Minister received the assurance of the Director-General that the WTO would continue to assist Jamaica in training and capacity building to strengthen the country's ability to take advantage of opportunities within the Economic Partnership agreement and the WTO framework.

Prime Minister Golding was the special guest at a luncheon meeting hosted by the President of the International Trade Centre, Patricia Francis. They discussed the ongoing programme of assistance being provided by the ITC to Jamaica Trade and Invest and the Jamaica Exporters Association, aimed at improving Jamaica's export competitiveness and marketing capabilities.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will address the UN Global Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction before addressing the annual conference of the International Labour Organization.