2 A "DEVELOPMENT ROUND"?
§34 'We urge the Government in consultation
with developing countries, NGOs and others, to establish clear
benchmarks by which it will assess the success or failure of Cancún
and the Round as a whole'
The Government is committed to making sure that the
Doha round produces real benefits for the poor. Critical to delivering
that commitment will be an assessment of whether the agreements
made in Cancún and beyond are development friendly. Therefore,
DFID will commission an independent assessment of the Doha round
agreements, and their likely impact on development, once the round,
scheduled to end on 1 January 2005, is completed.
In addition and more immediately, the Government
will be taking regular stock of progress against the targets set
out in DFID, DTI and FCO's joint Public Service Agreement on trade.
§36 'The deadlines for resolving issues which
were supposed to be resolved at an early stage—TRIPS and
public health, SDT, implementation—have been missed. Early
resolution of these issues was part of the mandate delivered at
Doha, and was supposed to be a key component of a development
round. […] The resolution of Implementation issues should
not, as paragraph 47 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration insisted,
be a bargaining chip in this so-called "Development Round."
Regrettably, it is.'
We welcome the recent agreement on TRIPS and public
health which shows that the WTO can responds to developing countries'
needs. Nevertheless, the slow pace of progress on other issues
of importance to developing countries is regrettable.
On implementation in particular, the Government
recognises that some WTO members' positions have been used as
a negotiating tactic. We believe, however, that there are legitimate
issues to be addressed and we are working hard to meet developing
countries' concerns. This will mean, that as far as possible,
the tactics of the negotiations should be kept separate from the
substance of discussions.
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