Velkomst og innlegg på møte i WTO-utvalget

Innlegget baserte seg på nedenstående punkter.

1. Welcome by the Foreign Minister.

• Welcome everybody. 
• This is a forum for contact and consultation between the government and stakeholders in business and civil society. 
• Last meeting in this format in July, before the informal ministerial.
• Many of you present in Geneva, where we met regularly.
• A special welcome to the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy.
• Pleased that you are able and willing to participate.
• Look forward to hear your views on the events that transpired in July, and your perspective on where we may go from here.
• Then I will give my assessment before opening the floor for questions and comments.
• For your information, we will have to close the meeting at 18:30 sharp.
• Pascal - the floor is yours.

2. Introduction by Director-General Pascal Lamy.

3. Introduction by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Thank you, Pascal.

Comments regarding substance;

1. Norway accepted to negotiate on the basis of a package put forward by the Director General – but a difficult package in agriculture;

• 70% cut in the highest tariffs,
• Number of sensitive products (4 + 2 %) in the lower end of our expectations,
• Not our preferred solution on tariff capping, but essential exemptions for all sensitive products plus some non-sensitive products,
• Basic quota expansion for sensitive products in lower end of chair’s text (4%) an important element, but concern about additional quota increases related to other elements.
  

2.  Like others, our acceptance was conditional on elements outside the package.

3. For Norway in particular the question of being able to freely selecting sensitive products (paragraph 80).

4. Important that the package did not contain any surprises for us, but stayed within the ranges of the Chair’s text.

• Most numbers in the package have been known for some time.
  

5. On NAMA – the July package envisaged a coefficient of 8 for developed countries, which would have been a satisfactory result.

6. Important to us that the package received broad support, including from developing countries.

General assessment;

1. Strong political commitment to close a deal.

• Few, if any, other negotiation where ministers would stay for more than a full week trying to strike the last delicate compromises.
  

2. Unfortunately we did not succeed, but I believe we came very close to a deal.

3. Shared view that we should try to preserve progress made.

4. Need to find solutions to outstanding issues.

5. SSM is not the only remaining difficult issue.

• Cotton was never discussed in earnest in July.
  
  

6. Getting it done will not be easy – in light of political realities and processes. But we will do our part.

7. We need a new WTO agreement.

• strengthen the multilateral rules based system, 
• integrate developing Members into the global economy,
• uncertain global economy, 

4. Questions and comments from the audience