WTO Crisis Averted?

Evan Rogerson+MEC-16Dec2014

Introduction

The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali last December 2013 was lauded for bringing a new breath of life into the WTO. The WTO Members succeeded in adopting the “Bali Package”, which contained several breakthrough decisions aimed at streamlining trade, dealing with the issue of food security, boosting least-developed countries’ trade, and helping development more generally. However, the organisation had to face another impasse when some WTO Members in an unprecedented move withdrew their support for the Package at the time of its implementation. Fortunately on 27 November 2014, the General Council succeeded in breaking the impasse and brought the WTO work “back on track”.

This presentation aimed to look at the multifaceted role of the WTO and its future in light of current circumstances and potential challenges.

Among the questions it explored were:

What happened?
Should we consider the Bali Package as a part of the Doha Round?
What exactly has been agreed in the Bali Package?
How does the Bali Package contribute to the improvement of the multilateral trading system?
Does the WTO need to rethink a new way to negotiate within the organisation?

This seminar aimed to help frame the issues, provide an update on the latest development at the WTO, stimulate discussion and contribute to what needs to be a continuing debate.

About the Speaker

Evan Rogerson has been a Director in the WTO for nearly twenty years. He joined its predecessor, the GATT, in 1986 and served in the Agriculture Division before joining the Office of the Director-General in 1993. He headed the DG’s Office from 1995 to 1999. He was Director of the Ministerial Sessions Division and then the Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division from 1999 to 2012, when he returned to the Agriculture and Commodities Division as Director.

Mr Rogerson’s experience covers most of the key issues and events in the WTO’s evolution. He has attended every Ministerial Conference since 1988 and has played a key role in both the substance and the organisation of most of them. He has been the Secretary to successive Ministerial Conferences, to the WTO’s General Council and to its Dispute Settlement Body. In his current role, he heads the Secretariat’s work on the agriculture negotiations for Bali and the wider Doha agenda as well as handling the WTO’s involvement with the food security issue, which has an important G-20 and interagency dimension.

Before joining the GATT, Mr Rogerson served in the New Zealand diplomatic service, with postings in Brussels and London. He was also External Relations Manager for Anchor Foods in the UK. Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, in 1952, he was educated at Auckland Grammar School and Auckland University. He is married with two adult sons.