Early Friday morning, members of the World Trade Organization agreed on several agreements. However, they still have to be approved by the General Assembly. The previous explanations are not very specific.
Progress was made early Friday morning at the WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva.
(dpa)
After a second overnight session, negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on several agreements early on Friday. However, all texts still had to be approved in a general assembly by representatives of the 164 member countries. This was expected in the early hours of the morning. However, each individual country can still stop all deals. In the WTO, decisions can only be taken unanimously.
The main statement said, among other things, not very specifically: “We are committed to working towards necessary reforms in the WTO. (…) In our opinion, the reforms should improve all functions.» The dispute settlement mechanism, which was suspended due to a blockade by the USA, should be operational again in two years. It also emphasizes that developing countries should be supported in order to be able to participate in world trade and that special attention must be paid to their needs.
In a declaration on food security, the countries also give little concrete assurances that they want to work to ensure a good global supply. “We agree that trade, together with domestic production, plays a crucial role in improving global food security in all its dimensions and improving nutrition,” the draft text reads.
Among other things, the ministerial meeting discussed a temporary suspension of patents on corona vaccines, an end to harmful fisheries subsidies and an extension of the agreement not to levy tariffs in international digital trade.
The meeting was originally only scheduled to last until Wednesday. In the absence of an agreement, it was extended to Thursday and then into Friday night.