Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697724541566.pdf (Canada)
Report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation respecting its participation at the Parliamentary Panel within the Framework of the WTO Public Forum 2011 and the 24th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Geneva, Switzerland September 19-21, 2011 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.

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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.

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The Canadian delegation Representatives from various parliaments, members of the WTO and civil service organizations the Hon.

Donald H. Oliver, QC, Senator, Speaker pro tempore of the Senate.

Parliamentary participated including Panel, the in 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 1 More than 40 items w ere on the Forum agenda.
For more information, see: http://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/public_forum11_e/programme_e.htm.

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.

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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 W TO.

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

regional parliamentary assemblies, including 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.
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 Parliame ntary 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, The Honourable Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis, Senator Canadian Group of the IPU Appendix 1 Parliamentary Conference on the WTO September 21 2011, IPU Headquarters, Geneva 24th Session of the Steering Committee Summary of Discussions with WTO Deputy Director-General Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza Mrs. Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza , Deputy Director-General of the WTO, appeared before Members of the Steering Committee to discuss recent developments at the WTO.
She made a presentation and answered questions from the members.

Mrs. Rugwabia first gave an overview of the current economic situation.

As the world moved from a financial crisis to a growth crisis, global trade has been negatively affected.

While global trade grew by 14.5% in 2010, trade growth in 2011 is projected to be rather limited.

Although protectionist measures have been contained in 2009 and 2010, there are currently a lot of pressures on governments to take a more protectionist approach.
With respect to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), Mrs. Rugwabia mentioned that a lot of things have been achieved in the past 10 years but that the current negotiation round is now at an impasse.

The world has seen a lot of transformations, new members have joined the WTO, the economic power has shifted, and the world agenda has evolved as global issues have emerged (energy, food security, climate change, exchange rate).

All of these changes have had an impact on the Multilateral Trading System (MTS).
The WTO membership is somewhat split between those, who would like to move to 21th century issues, and those, who believe we cannot move on those issues if the DDA has not been dealt with.

Some members fear to divert attention into new issues whereas movement is not guaranteed on the DDA front.

Furthermore, DDA issues such as agricultural subsidies will not disappear.
It has not been decided yet if those new issues will be addressed at the next ministerial conference, but some countries have started to act.

For example, Brazil asked the WTO’s Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance, to take a look at the impact of currency exchange rates on international trade.

Members recognize that if the rule-making part (the DDA round of negotiations) of the WTO was to be paralyzed, it would have an impact on the whole system.
The WTO is more than the DDA, it is also about rule enforcement, and accountability.

Members agree on the need for a way out of the impasse.

At the next ministerial conference is December, ministers will have to talk about new approaches and provide guidance on how to move on the negotiation front.

The Chair of the General Council is consulting members on the organization; members have put forward a number of issues including DDA.
Some members are already looking for a pragmatic approach to adopt what is already mature and pose little problem at the table (such as trade facilitation).

They are looking for flexibility in negotiating procedure and may review the principle of the single undertaking.

The ministerial conference also has a mandate to review key elements of the organization.
Mrs. Rugwabia recognized that the media coverage about the DDA is rather negative, and that most news outlet would characterised it as “dead.” There is a need to find new ways to improve communication.

It was said that members have not been very good at communicating to their population the stake of the negotiations, but it is ultimately their role since people trust their government more than the WTO administration.
The WTO outreach activities are targeting parliamentarians and government officials rather than the general population.

that countries must notify agreements with a Regarding a question on bilateral or plurilateral free trade agreements (FTA), Mrs. Rugwabia indicated that the WTO monitors FTA through a mandate included in WTO agreements, and factual presentation.

There is a possibility that members would strengthen the monitoring system with an analytical rather than a factual presentation.
She mentioned a WTO report on bilateral agreements and its relations to the MTS.

FTAs are not driven by tariff reduction but rather by new regulations setting or regulation harmonizati on.

There is currently a “spaghetti ball” of regulations that is impeding trade.

One problem with this approach is that it excludes members with least developed regulatory systems.

Mrs. Rugwabia briefly touched upon the negotiations on the accession of Russia to the WTO.
Russia remains the largest economy outside the WTO membership.

Negotiations have accelerated, and Russia accession could be dealt with at the next ministerial conference.

to a question about issues Responding Mrs. Rugwabia indicated that agreements are negotiated in a gender neutral way.

The gender dimension, however, is not reflected in negotiations, but it is reflected in some members’ position and trade policies.
the significance of gender trade in Appendix 2 Travel Costs Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Parliamentary Panel within the Framework of the WTO Public Forum 2011 and the 24th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Geneva, Switzerland September 19-21, 2011 Hon.

Donald H. Oliver, Q.C.


Frédéric Forge, Analyst $ $ $ 8,563.73 2,782.97 1,800.14 ASSOCIATION ACTIVITY DESTINATION DATES DELEGATION SENATE HOUSE OF COMMONS STAFF TRANSPORTATION ACCOMMODATION HOSPITALITY PER DIEMS OFFICIAL GIFTS MISCELLANEOUS / REGISTRATION FEES TOTAL $ 13,146.84