WTO confce extended by a day

The ongoing meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been extended by one day as countries could not reach a consensus on various issues under discussion within the stipulated time.

Following the consultations by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the MC12 Chair, Timur Suleimanov, the vice-chairs and the minister facilitators, delegations were informed that the MC12 will be extended until June 16.

It came after Okonjo-Iweala called on the members, late on June 14, to go the extra mile to find convergence on various issues at stake to conclude meaningful agreements.

"It requires that we work harder and work nights and do whatever it takes to be able to do it.

The good news is that progress is being made but it needs a little more work and more time," Okonjo-Iweala told delegates.

"The not-so-good news is that we are running out of time, so I think it is really time for ministers to make the requisite decisions that need to be made," she said in a statement.

"They feel that we really can cross the line on some of these things if we give it a bit more time, so I just throw that out there for your consideration."

The delegates from the member countries have assembled at the Ministerial Conference, the topmost decision-making body of the global trade body, to strike deals on food security, e-commerce, fishing subsidies, extending tariff benefits to graduating least-developed countries and TRIPS waiver, and reform of the WTO.

However, the participating countries failed to reach consensus during the original scheduled, which was June 12 to June 15.

Hafizur Rahman, director-general of the WTO Cell under the commerce ministry of Bangladesh, said it was good that time has been extended. This usually happens when negotiators are optimistic about the possibility of reaching consensus, he said.

Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the extension may bring some positive outcomes.

For instance, the member countries were closer to a deal on the reduction of fisheries subsidies, but it did not materialise at the end.

This is because India wants a 25-year waiver on fisheries subsidies as the South Asian nation has a lot of small fisheries on which millions of farmers are dependent to make a living.

The EU and the US wanted continuation of fisheries subsidy for three to five years.