The Doha Development Agenda: The WTO Framework Agreement

Publication Date: February 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Trade

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Abstract:

On July 31, 2004, the 147 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached a Framework Agreement for conducting future Doha Round trade negotiations. The Framework Agreement is the latest step in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) round of trade negotiations at the WTO, which was launched at the 4th Ministerial of the WTO at Doha, Qatar in November 2001. This report provides analysis of the framework agreement and its significant results (agriculture, industrial market access, services, and trade facilitation) in the context of U.S. objectives.

The Framework addresses the three "pillars" of agricultural trade liberalization identified in the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration: substantial reductions in tradedistorting domestic support; the phase-out, with a view to total elimination, of all export subsidies; and substantial improvements in market access. A crucial trade-off for the negotiations is the extent to which developed countries reduce their tradedistorting domestic support in return for additional market access from large developing countries.

Non-agricultural market access (NAMA) received less scrutiny. The agreement provides general guidance for future negotiations on the modality for reducing tariffs, the binding of developing country tariffs, sectoral tariff elimination, and special and differential treatment (SDT) for developing countries. The NAMA talks may benefit from the new impetus in the agricultural negotiations.

The parameters of the services negotiations were established as part of the preDoha "built-in agenda" and in the Doha Ministerial Declaration that launched the new round. The framework reaffirms the commitments made at Doha and charges the negotiators to complete and submit their initial offers as soon as possible, to submit revised offers by May 2005, and to ensure that the offers are in sectors and modes of supply that are of interest to developing countries. Services involving the temporary movement of natural persons will remain contentious for both developed and developing countries.

The Framework sets forth modalities for negotiations on trade facilitation, including assessing the needs and priorities of member countries; providing technical assistance to developing countries; and addressing trade facilitation language in the GATT agreement. An early matter for clarification is whether the negotiations will yield enforceable rules, or merely guidelines, for trade facilitation.

While the Framework Agreement resolved several contentious issues regarding the negotiation of a future agriculture agreement, other issues were addressed in a cursory fashion, if at all. Much work remains to be done to flesh out the Framework to achieve an actual agreement on trade liberalization. The manner in which these issues are resolved may influence the level of Congressional support for any resulting agreement. The agreement also abandons the January 1, 2005, deadline for the negotiations, but instead sets December 2005 as the date for the 6th Ministerial to be held in Hong Kong. This report will be updated as appropriate.