On May 31, before the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy proposed organizing the issues currently under discussion in the Doha Round into three groups. Lamy indicated the first group should include issues of importance to least-developed countries, including duty-free/quota-free treatment, a waiver from implementing a yet-to-be-negotiated agreement on services, and "a step forward" on developed country support for cotton production. The second group, which Lamy called "an LDC-plus outcome with a significant development component," would encompass topics to be agreed through deliberations among WTO members, with possibilities such as trade facilitation, export subsidies, fisheries subsidies, regional trade agreements, trade in environmental goods and services, and a "standstill" in new trade barriers. The third group would comprise issues that members "do not see as candidates for outcomes this year," such as market access for industrial, consumer and agricultural goods, services, trade remedies and intellectual property rights. Lamy hopes to have more clarity on these targets by the end of next week after further consultations.
However, U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Michael Punke stated at the TNC that while the United States is "fully committed to this exploration of options," he expressed skepticism on whether WTO members would be able to come to a consensus on what should be covered by a smaller package. "For the United States, a core principle of our work going forward is this: all major players must make a meaningful contribution to any package of deliverables for 2011. To be blunt, this will not work if Members treat this as an 'everybody but us' exercise. All major players must take steps that are politically difficult."
