Report

The Parliamentary Panel within
the Framework of the 2011 WTO Public Forum

1. Background

The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is a joint undertaking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament. Its primary objective is to enhance the external transparency of the WTO and make it accountable to parliamentarians as elected representatives of the people.

Linked with the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament have traditionally organized special parliamentary panels during WTO Public Forums. Such parliamentary panels are geared towards the specific interests of members of parliament specializing in international trade.

The WTO Public Forum is an annual event where participants jointly reflect upon the functioning of the multilateral trading system and analyse the state of advancement of the Doha Development Agenda. This forum provides an opportunity for governments, non-governmental organizations, academics, businesses and students to come together to discuss issues regarding the multilateral trading system. The WTO organizes the first plenary session and various organizations organize other sessions that are open to the public.

2. Program for the Parliamentary Panel

The 2011 WTO Public Forum was held on WTO premises in Geneva from September 19 to 21, with the theme “Seeking Answers to Global Trade Challenges.”[1] As part of the overall program, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament held a parliamentary panel entitled:

Trade in Natural Resources – Curse or Blessing? A Parliamentary Perspective

This parliamentary panel took place on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

3. The Canadian delegation

Representatives from various parliaments, members of the WTO and civil service organizations participated in the Parliamentary Panel, including the Hon. Donald H. Oliver, QC, Senator, Speaker pro tempore of the Senate.

4. Speakers

The Parliamentary Panel revolved around the question of whether natural resources are a curse or a blessing for a country, and the role of parliamentarians in promoting democratic, anti-corrupt, transparent, environmental and development-friendly policy on trade in natural resources.  The Parliamentary Panel was moderated by Mr. Ram Etwareea, Journalist at Le Temps (Geneva, Switzerland), and included the following speakers:

·         Mr. Jörg Leichtfried, Member of the European Parliament;

·         Mr. Piet van der Walt, Member of Parliament, Namibia; and

·         Ms. Roberta Piermartini, Senior Economist, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO

Panelists agreed that natural resources could only be a blessing when they are well regulated. While the possession of natural resources could provide a good head start for economic development and diversification if the right policies are adopted, countries whose economies are dominated by the extraction and export of natural resources also run the risk of hampering economic growth in other areas. Furthermore, the extraction and use of natural resources has important environmental and sustainability implications. The panel also discussed the role of multinational mining companies, and agreed upon the importance of balance with local small and medium enterprises, regulation and environmental standards. On the topic of whether every country should have access to natural resources, the panel agreed that export policy is not the first best choice to conserve natural resources, and such policy should be implemented carefully. The WTO dispute case on raw material export restriction was mentioned. During the Q&A session, comments touched on the corruption problem, the use of GATT Article XX to restrict natural resources exports, and on the absence of a new set of WTO rules on natural resources trade.

5. The next parliamentary session on the WTO

The date of the next activity of the parliamentary conference on the WTO has yet to be determined. The Steering Committee met on September 21, 2011, and submitted a number of proposals for the next meeting.

The 24th Session of the Steering Committee of
the Parliamentary Conference on
the World Trade Organization

1. Background

The Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is responsible for all matters relating to the organization of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO.

The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is a joint undertaking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament. Its primary objective is to enhance the external transparency of the WTO and make it accountable to legislators as elected representatives of the people. The sessions of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO are held once a year and on the occasion of WTO Ministerial Conferences.

2. Agenda

The Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO met on September 21, 2011 on the IPU premises in Geneva, Switzerland. The session included the following agenda items:

·         Update on recent WTO developments with the WTO Deputy Director-General; Mrs. Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza;

·         Discussion about the 2011 WTO Public Forum;

·         Discussion on the rotation of the Steering Committee membership in 2012; and

·         Discussion on future activities of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO.

3. The Canadian delegation

The Steering Committee meeting welcomed 42 participants from 16 national parliaments and regional parliamentary assemblies, including the Hon. Donald H. Oliver, QC, Senator, Speaker pro tempore of the Senate of Canada, who co-chaired the meeting.

4. The meeting

The meeting started with a presentation from the WTO Deputy Director-General Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza, followed by a period of questions and answers. A summary of the discussions with the WTO Deputy Director-General can be found in Appendix 1.

The Hon. Donald H. Oliver initiated a discussion on the ways to improve the parliamentary dimension of the WTO and to strengthen the input of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO into the WTO process. Members of the Steering Committee agreed with his suggestion to convey the views of the Steering Committee to WTO negotiators in a more systematic way. The modalities of this reporting mechanism this will be discussed at a future session of the Steering Committee.

In addition, the Hon. Donald H. Oliver obtained consent from the members of the Steering Committee to convey a political message from parliamentarians to the 8th WTO Ministerial Conference that will be held in December 2011. As the Parliamentary Conference co-organizers, the IPU and the European Parliament will prepare the message based on the Outcome Document adopted at the 2011 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO.

The IPU report on the 24th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference, which includes a summary of decisions taken by the Committee, can be found in Appendix 2.

Respectfully submitted,