PROPOSED MODALITIES FOR NEGOTIATIONS ON MARKET ACCESS OF NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

摘要

At Doha Ministerial Conference, the ministers agreed to launch tariff-cutting negotiations on all Non-Agricultural Products including Textiles & Clothing. The aim is "to reduce, or as appropriate eliminate tariffs including the reduction or elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs, and tariff escalation, as well as non-tariff barriers, in particular on products of export interest to developing countries". These negotiations shall take fully into account the special needs and interests of developing and least-developed countries, and recognize that these countries do not need to match or reciprocate in full tariff-reduction commitments by other participants. At the start, participants have to reach agreement on how ("modalities") to conduct a tariff-cutting exercise (in the Tokyo Round, the participants used an agreed mathematical formula to cut tariffs across the board ; in the Uruguay Round, participants negotiated cuts product by product). The agreed procedures will include studies and capacity-building measures that would help least-developed countries participate effectively in the negotiations.