The G-20 group of developing countries, of which Brazil is a core member, have released a communiqué following their meeting in Geneva on 15 November to discuss the Doha Round of world trade negotiations.

The full text of the communiqué is as follows:

"The Ministers and Senior Officials of the G-20 met in Geneva on 15 November 2007 to discuss recent developments and consider future steps in the Doha Round. They recalled that the Group has been a major driving force in the negotiations. Its technical contributions and its political commitment have helped advance the negotiations towards the common goal of eliminating the trade-distorting policies maintained by developed countries. The G-20 will continue to strive for a result that lives up to the development dimension of the Mandate, thereby unleashing the potential for agricultural development in all developing countries.

The G-20 has consistently stressed the centrality of agriculture in the Round. Agriculture will determine the pace and level of ambition of the negotiations in the Round. This is a political imperative that derives from the commitment undertaken in Doha to place agriculture and development at the heart of the multilateral trading system.

The Ministers and Senior Officials recalled that a large share of the working population in developing countries earns its livelihood through agriculture. They highlighted that most of the poor people in the world are farmers. The fight against poverty requires a successful and balanced Doha Round.

They underlined the importance of proportionality in the contributions of developed and developing countries. Developed countries are accountable for the main distortions and restrictions in agriculture; they must live up to their responsibilities.

The Ministers and Senior Officials recalled that a substantial outcome must be achieved in the three pillars of the negotiation. The multilayered nature of the distorting policies applied by developed countries requires comprehensive solutions in export competition, domestic support and market access. Partial movements in each pillar are not sufficient to ensure meaningful or acceptable results in the negotiations. The strategy of taking away with one hand what is given with another will not bear fruit.

In the domestic support pillar, it is necessary to achieve effective cuts in OTDS, at the lowest end of the Chair’s range; credible and effective disciplines to avoid concentration of expenditures, product-shifting and box-shifting of support, with deeper and more expeditious commitments for cotton; development of disciplines to ensure that green box policies are indeed non or, at most, minimally trade-distorting and accommodate programmes of interest to developing countries. On market access, the formula for tariff cuts must be in line with the G-20 proposal on tiers, cuts, capping and average cuts. Developed countries must commit to meaningful TRQ expansion to effectively compensate for the deviation from the formula cut for sensitive products and to the elimination of the SSG. Conversion of all agricultural tariffs to simple ad valorem terms is essential to ensure transparency, predictability, and an overall balanced result in market access in the Round. The modalities must also deliver on the mandate for RAMs, SVEs, tropical and alternative products, tariff escalation and preference erosion. On export competition, they pointed out that the end period agreed in Hong Kong for the elimination of all forms of export subsidies cannot be reopened. They also called for strengthened and improved monitoring and surveillance to ensure compliance with new commitments and disciplines.

The Ministers and Senior Officials underscored the importance of making Special and Differential (S&D) treatment operative and integral to the negotiations in the three pillars. They also stressed the importance of overall proportionality in tariff reduction commitments. They emphasized the vital role of SPs, in addressing the food security, rural development and livelihood concerns of developing countries, and of the SSM. Both shall be an integral part of the modalities and the outcome of negotiations in agriculture.

The G-20 will assess the draft modalities by reference to these parameters, as well as to Paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declaration. The Ministers and Senior Officials emphasised the imperative of balance within and between different areas of the negotiations, in line with the principle of special and differential treatment.

A successful Round is within our grasp. The G-20 is ready to work constructively and in a problem-solving mode with other WTO Members so as to advance to final negotiations on full modalities. Our objective is to ensure an outcome that delivers on the development dimension of the Round within the shortest period of time possible. The move towards horizontal negotiations will require texts that are complete and balanced, that provide clarity concerning the actual contribution to be made by developed countries, and that emanate from a multilateral, transparent and bottom-up approach.

The G-20 will continue to work closely with other developing countries with a view to achieving a timely, balanced and proportionate outcome that is acceptable to all."

Source: Ministry of External Relations