MEPs call for comprehensive institutional reform package of the WTO
Trade MEPs on Wednesday backed a resolution urging for a fully functioning dispute settlement system ahead of the WTO's next biennial Ministerial Conference on 26-29 February in Abu Dhabi.
MEPs voted by 35 in favour, 1 against and 5 abstentions on a draft resolution that calls on World Trade Organization (WTO) members to reach an agreement on the dispute settlement system at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), the meeting of the global trade organisation’s highest governing body. Since 2019, the system has faced an impasse caused by the non-functionality of the Appellate Body, the WTO's highest court, which is unable to hear new appeals. WTO members have committed to agree on a fully functioning system by 2024.
In the draft resolution, MEPs urge the Conference to “adopt a comprehensive package on institutional reform”, and argue that the MC13 should be the “starting point for advancing and modernising the WTO”. MEPs argue that it is “a matter of urgency to proceed to a substantive reform.”
MEPs warn that the “rules-based multilateral trading system is currently under a great deal of pressure, subject to geopolitical tensions and unilateral measures”, and underline that a “multilateral system to govern trade is essential”.
MEPs also call on WTO members to ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies aimed at curbing harmful subsidies, in order for the agreement to enter into force, and to conclude the second phase of the agreement, which relates to overfishing and overcapacity.
The text supports efforts to find a “fair and permanent” solution for the e-commerce moratorium on customs duties on online deliveries of music, e-books, films, software, etc., which has been in place since 1998, adding that digital trade accounts for 25% of total trade.
Quotes
Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the International Trade Committee and Co-chair of the Steering Group of Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (PCWTO), said: “With our resolution and our upcoming delegation to Abu Dhabi, the European Parliament once again underlines the fundamental importance we attach to the multilateral trading system. After MC12 became an unexpected success and gave a new impetus to the multilateral trading system, we need to build on this. We have two priorities. First, we need a comprehensive package on institutional reform with a dispute settlement system that includes a binding, two-tier process with an appeal function. The US needs to be on board for this to materialise. Second, we need a second phase fisheries agreement to protect ocean sustainability and show the multilateral system can still deliver agreements.”
Jörgen Warborn (EPP, SE), Co-chair of the Steering Group of PCWTO, said: “In an increasingly unpredictable and volatile global trade arena, MC13 will prove an important occasion to reflect the strength of the rules-based trade order. I hope that members significantly advance discussions on WTO reform and identify solutions for reviving the dispute settlement process, as well as agree on a renewal of the e-commerce moratorium. These priorities will be essential to support businesses challenged by high inflation, supply chain disruptions and market fragmentation.”
Next steps
MEPs are set to hold a debate on the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference at the first plenary session in February with representatives of the Commission and the Council, and MEPs are expected to vote on the resolution. A delegation of MEPs, led by INTA Chair Bernd Lange, will travel to Abu Dhabi at the end of February for the session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (PCWTO), a meeting of deputies co-organised by the European Parliament, ahead of the MC13.
Background
The WTO Ministerial Conference, which meets every two years, brings together all 164-members, and takes decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. The MC13 will be held between 26 and 29 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. The European Parliament has been calling for the reform of the functioning of the WTO already since 2008.
Contacts:
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Eszter ZALAN
Press Officer