WTO meeting ends in discord
BUENOS AIRES/WASHINGTON: The World Trade Organisation failed to reach any new agreements yesterday, ending a threeday ministerial conference in discord in the face of stinging United States criticism of the group and vetoes from other countries.
The stalemate dashed hopes for new deals on ecommerce and curbs to farm and fisheries subsidies and raised questions about the body’s ability to govern increasingly disputed global trade.
The frustrations led some ministers, including US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, to suggest negotiations among smaller groups of ‘‘likeminded’’ WTO countries were a better approach.
‘‘We have not achieved any multilateral outcomes,’’ European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told a news conference.
‘‘The sad reality is that we did not even agree to stop subsidising illegal fishing.’’
She said the meeting laid bare one of the WTO’s biggest deficiencies — that all agreements must have the unanimous consent of all 164 member countries. She said the US was partly to blame but other countries also blocked progress.
WTO Directorgeneral Roberto Azevedo said WTO members needed to realise they could not get everything they wanted.
The failure to agree on new deals means talks on the same trade topics will continue.
WTO delegates agreed to set a new goal for reaching a comprehensive fisheries subsidy by the next ministerial conference in 2019. — Reuters