17 Amendments of Ska KELLER related to 2013/2740(RSP)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU has consistentlyalways advocated for a strong multilateral rules- based approach to trade, whilst recognising thatde facto since 2007 undermining this goal by embarking on complementary approaches such as bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements may also foster trade opening, especially by unlocking liberalisation in policy areas tackled less thoroughly in the WTO, andwhich has deviated political attention away from the multilateral arena and has impacted on the support for the multilateral system, provided such agreements areindependently of whether complementary approaches are formally WTO compliant;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the WTO Ministerial Meeting to conclude the Doha Round stalled atfrom the start of the DDA negotiations fundamental disagreements between participants over their goals prevailed, including a walk-out of African delegations from the WTO Ministerial in 2003, leading to an impasse since the end of July 2008;,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Believes that, in order to address effectively the prevailing imbalances in the world trading system, developing countries, and specifically LDCs, should be fully involved in the ongoing trade negotiations in the run up to the Bali Conference so as to secure consensus and ownership of any final results; against this background, expresses its concern that the interests of LDCs are currently marginalised; urges the EU to contribute to finding a satisfactory solution on their four areas of concerns, namely: a) the implementation of the duty-free and quota-free market access Decision (DFQF Decision) taken by Members at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005; b) preferential rules of origin; c) cotton; and d) operationalization of the LDC Services waiver.
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that trade liberalisation is a necessary but not in itself sufficiecan be an important tool to ensure sustainable economic growth and development, as it needs to beif it is phased-in intelligently and accompanied by appropriate flanking policies encompassing macro- and micro economic interventions, education and training, institutional reforms and social policies so as to maximise and distribute better the benefits of trade reforms and effectively counterbalance any negative effects;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises in this context the important role played by the Aid for Trade Initiative and regretnotes that for the first time since its launch in 2005 the amount of the commitments were reduced in 2011 due to the financial crisis, which resulted in less support to large projects in economic infrastructure with commitments in the transport and energy sector falling;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Draws attention to the Fourth Aid for Trade Review Conference held in July 2013 in Geneva where the participants identified trade-related constraints that prevent developing country firms from linking to or moving up value chains, namely inter alia tariff escalation schemes in export markets, inadequate infrastructure, high transportation and shipping costs, inadequate access to trade finance, inability to attract foreign direct investment, lack of comparative advantage and high market entry costs;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises the importance of the agricultural sector to developing countries and notendorses the proposals made by the G33 group of countries on the issue of food security; in particular, takes the view that small-holder farmers should be entitled to use their production to create stocks for food security purposes, which requires the use of subsidies; believes that the EU should support measures which restore food stocks for developing countries in the wake of the harmful speculation and price volatility in recent years; recalls that in this regard the EU should ensure coherence between the various EU policies as enshrined notably in Articles 207 and 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, namely development policy, the CAP and the common commercial policy, taking account of the needs and concerns of both EU Member States and those of developing countries; recalls that European agricultural export subsidies hampers the agricultural development of poor countries by generating unfair competition with their local agriculture;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the opening ofIs highly concerned about negotiations on a plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), which is in keeping with the Eighth Ministerial Conference's objective of exploring new ways for the WTO membership to further lib; recalls that a number of important developing countries oppose this initiative which is further undermining the effectiveness of the multilateralise trade in services; stresses the EU's commitment in promoting work regime; underlines the importance of ensuring this area and in keeping open the possibility of ‘multilateralising’ the TiSA by taking over thereinat any agreement is fully compatible with the definitions, rules and principles which form the core of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); underlines the importance of ensuring that any agreement is ambitious, expanding the coverage and deepening the rules regarding liberalisation in trade in services, and that and includes the application of the most-favoured-nation clause (MFN) as the outcomre is firmly anchored toprinciple of the WTO architecture;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that the transfer of technology can be a vector for economic growth and foster trade; regrets thereforedevelopment; takes note of the decision to suspend the negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement which would have included a set of principles on non-tariff barriers and increased both the product coverage and the countries within its scope; strongly encourages all parties to the negotiations to try to overcome their differencesrecommends all participating parties to recognize existing sensitivities regarding the inclusion of products of secondary IT content, such as refrigerators, and to resume negotiations;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. WelcomesTakes note of the revision of the WTO plurilateral government procurement agreement (GPA) as agreed in March 2012; believes that clearer and more stringent rules for award procedures will foster transparency in public procurement and, together with the extended coverage of goods and services and entities, will provide greater opportunities for its signatories; calls on WTO Members, in particular developing countries and current observers of the GPA, to consider joining the agreement, in order to take advantage of the new provisions for developing countries increasing flexibility and to reap its benefits;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is pleased that there was a positive decision taken in June 2013 to extend the TRIPS exemption by another eight years until 1 July 2021 for LDCs which is a further; deplores, however, the positioning of the EU against an unconditional waiver; is of the opinion that LDCs should be able to decide themselves about their readiness to apply TRIPS, as a way of ensuring that the world trading system doesn't adopt a one size fits all approach but rather takes account of the specificities of each developing countriesy;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Encourages the WTO membership to proactively support the WTO's efforts in establishing working links of the WTO with other international organisations whose work has a bearing on world trade talks, in particular the UN and its agencies and bodies such as the ILO, UNCTAD, FAO, the IMF and the World Bank, as well as the OECD;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that concluding the long standing Doha round with its development mandate intact is vital and that Bali will mark a turning point in terms of world tradefulfilled is vital; urges therefore all WTO members to explore all possible options with that end goal in sight in order to achieve a balanced result;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Recalls, in this sense, the importance to fulfil the commitments taken by developed countries at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005, which reflect priorities for LDCs, in particular the so-called "2005 Decision'" to provide duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access on a lasting basis for all products originating from LDCs, and the commitment to phase out agricultural export subsidies by 2013; recalls also, in this sense, the 2004 commitment to phase out domestic subsidies on cotton production;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Notes that preferential market access rules did little in practice to foster developing countries' exports and economic diversification; in particular, points out that while developed countries committed to provide duty-free and quota- free market access for at least 97% of products originating from LDCs, the remaining 3% which are not included tend to cover a substantial part of the products exported by LDCs, such as textiles and clothing for which they have competitive gains;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Points out that LDCs are usually not able to take advantage of preferential market access provisions under the DFQF as rules of origin are not adapted to the globalisation of production; reiterates that, in providing duty-free quota-free market access to LDC exports, Members shall ensure that preferential rules of origins applicable to imports from LDCs are transparent and simple, and contribute effectively to facilitating market access;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Recalls that cotton subsidies applied by developed countries do not only have distortive effects on trade but they also have a negative impact on development of cotton-producing developing countries; takes the view that a decision in Bali to phase out domestic subsidies on cotton would give a signal that the intention of the Doha Round is to implement the development agenda seriously;