Concluding the WTO's Doha Round: The post Hong Kong Roadmap

In a statement delivered in South Africa, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy assesses the outcomes of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and the remaining challenges for the Doha Development Agenda. He highlights agreements on the elimination of agricultural export subsidies by 2013, special protections for developing countries, and duty-free access for least developed countries (LDCs). Lamy emphasizes that concluding the round by the end of 2006 requires all major players—including the EU, US, Brazil, and India—to move from their current positions on agriculture, industrial tariffs, and services in concert.

• The Hong Kong conference achieved modest progress focused on developing countries, specifically securing a deadline of 2013 for the elimination of agricultural export subsidies, with a substantial portion to be removed by 2010.
• Developing countries gained flexibility to self-designate 'Special Products' based on rural development, livelihood security, and food security, and the ability to trigger a special safeguard against import volatility.
• Regarding cotton, rich countries agreed to eliminate all export subsidies in 2006, implement deeper and faster reductions in trade-distorting domestic subsidies than the general formula, and provide duty-free and quota-free access to LDC cotton exports.
• The WTO reaffirmed the goal of reducing barriers to industrial products (NAMA), which constitute over 80% of world trade in goods, with a commitment that tariff reduction coefficients will be more favorable for developing countries.
• Rich countries agreed to provide lasting duty-free and quota-free market access for all products from the 32 least developed countries (LDCs), subject to some transition flexibilities.
• Negotiations on services were opened to plurilateral discussions, allowing countries to choose which sectors to open to foreign providers; Lamy specifically noted that services represent 70% of South Africa's GDP.
• An 'Aid for Trade' package was agreed upon to build supply-side and trade-related capacity in developing countries, particularly to support trade facilitation measures that could potentially save €300 billion annually by halving bureaucratic costs.
• To conclude the Doha Round by the end of 2006, the EU must move on agricultural market access, the US on domestic agricultural subsidies, and large developing countries like Brazil and India on services and industrial product market access.

APA

Lamy, P. (2006). Concluding the WTO's Doha Round: The post Hong Kong Roadmap. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Lamy-Statement_Feb-2006.pdf

Chicago

Lamy, Pascal. Concluding the WTO's Doha Round: The post Hong Kong Roadmap. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2006. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Lamy-Statement_Feb-2006.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lamy |first1=Pascal |title=Concluding the WTO's Doha Round: The post Hong Kong Roadmap |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=10 February 2006 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Lamy-Statement_Feb-2006.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lamy2006concluding, author = {Lamy, Pascal}, title = {{Concluding the WTO's Doha Round: The post Hong Kong Roadmap}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2006}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Lamy-Statement_Feb-2006.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }