Azevêdo celebra que los bancos se comprometan a apoyar las negociaciones de la OMC sobre la simplificación del comercio

0
20

 

Las negociaciones de la OMC orientadas a simplificar los intercambios comerciales han recibido un gran impulso debido a que el Banco Mundial, el Fondo Monetario Internacional y cuatro bancos regionales de desarrollo se han comprometido a apoyar un acuerdo sobre la “facilitación del comercio”, dijo el Director General de la OMC, Roberto Azevêdo, el 13 de octubre de 2013.

 

 

(de momento sólo en inglés)

 

In the statement, the financial institutions promise to work with the WTO and its members to ensure that developing countries, and particularly the least developed among them, receive the assistance that they will need to meet commitments that they make in the talks.

“The statement shows a strong and positive commitment from the World Bank, IMF and their regional counterparts at this crucial stage in the preparations for Bali,” Mr Azevêdo said, referring to the 3–6 December WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali.

“This will greatly assist WTO members’ efforts to conclude an agreement, because these institutions have strong expertise in this field. They are well placed to help countries implement the reforms that they have promised to introduce, and they have vast experience in developing trade infrastructure,” he said.

 

‘Trade facilitation’

WTO members are negotiating a package of reforms known collectively as “trade facilitation” — which would involve making ports more efficient, cutting red tape in customs procedures and other regulations, and upgrading information technology.

The potential benefits of a WTO trade facilitation deal would go mostly to developing and least developed countries, adding billions of dollars to their exports and to the global economy, according to estimates from the World Bank, one of the organizations most active on the issue.

The joint statement was issued during the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, at a vital time in WTO members’ work with the Bali Ministerial Conference less than two months away.

Trade facilitation is one of three issues members are negotiating for the conference. The other two are a group of agricultural issues, and special treatment for developing countries.

All three are part of a broader agenda in the Doha Round talks and were identified by member governments after the 2011 Ministerial Conference as topics where agreement might be reached more quickly than other Doha Round subjects, and could therefore be a first step towards agreement on the whole round.

Mr Azevêdo said he would discuss with the WTO’s 159 members how to implement the financial institutions’ pledge, for example how best to support developing countries meet their commitments.

“The joint statement is another boost for the talks leading up to Bali, following a series of useful negotiating sessions in Geneva recently, and encouraging messages I heard at APEC and in Delhi,” he said. Mr Azevêdo had just returned from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bali and meetings with Indian ministers and officials in Delhi.

 

African Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
European Investment Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group

JOINT STATEMENT BY MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS ON TRADE FACILITATION ASSISTANCE

Heads of seven institutions issued the following joint statement on trade facilitation assistance today at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON, October 13, 2013 — The Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia on 3-6 December 2013 offers an opportunity to conclude a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement that will deliver tangible economic benefits for developing and least-developed countries.  We urge WTO Members to seize this opportunity.

At our meetings here in Washington we had the opportunity to discuss preparations for the Bali Ministerial meeting. We are encouraged by the renewed engagement by WTO members on trade facilitation and other issues of interest to developing countries, including least-developed countries.

We would like to reiterate our strong collective commitment to support trade facilitation. A growing body of research points to the positive development impact of trade facilitation.  Tackling inefficiency in clearing goods and shortening delays can reduce the cost of getting goods to market with positive effects on competitiveness and consumer welfare.

Our institutions are engaged in a broad range of trade-related infrastructure projects.  Since 2008, we have disbursed USD 22 billion in concessional support for economic infrastructure and building productive capacity in developing countries.  With strong evidence that trade facilitation reforms help maximize the economic impact of our trade-related infrastructure assistance, our support to trade facilitation programs has more than doubled since 2008.

A WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement would add significant momentum to efforts to increase developing country competitiveness, and provide a multilateral framework to shape and guide trade facilitation efforts taking place at the regional and national level. In July 2013, together with more than 20 other organizations and governments, we stated our strong commitment to support developing countries, and in particular least-developed countries, in the full and effective implementation of a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

We recognize that concerns persist in the negotiations about access to and coherence of assistance. We will work with the WTO and its members to help ensure that the new commitments that a trade facilitation agreement would bring are supported.  We will also work to ensure that our support for the implementation of commitments is coordinated with our support for complementary infrastructure development.

To implement a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, we recognize we will need to discuss further how to ensure a coordinated and effective response to requests for support from developing countries, and in particular least-developed countries