World trade organization wto green room meetings are small gatherings of representatives from up to 30 member countries invited by the director general.
What is green room in wto.
These meetings can take place elsewhere such as at ministerial conferences and can be called by the minister chairing the conference as well as the director general.
They are designed to provide the basis for a consensus on critical negotiating issues that can be brought to the wto membership as a whole.
The informal name of the director general s conference room.
The wto director general pascal lamy tried on tuesday 28 march to get the wto membership to take seriously the deadline of the end of april to agree to modalities on negotiations on agriculture and non agricultural market access nama.
At a meeting of the trade negotiations committee on.
Ministerial green room consultations deal with the most sensitive political issues including tariff or subsidy cuts or the degree of flexibility regarding those cuts.
The origin of the term is often ascribed to such rooms historically being painted green.
The wto is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
Green room meetings serve a useful purpose in that their informal nature allows negotiators to explore new approaches to settling difficult issues.
Attaining this is difficult as the wto is a large organization and members willingly join a consensus if they believe it will be the most beneficial even if it is not what they really want.
On wednesday an even smaller group of 7 members took over the negotiations as even the green room was suspended.
At the wto s present meetings the negotiations are taking place in a green room to which 30 40 members are invited.
The green room is a phrase taken from the informal name of the director general s conference room.
They have thus proposed the establishment of a small informal steering committee a consultative board that can be delegated responsibility for developing consensus on trade issues among the member countries.
Results of green room discussions are presented to the rest of the wto which may vote on the result.
It is used to refer to meetings of 20 40 delegations usually at the level of heads of delegations.
Green room and other such small group meetings with delegates from different countries are used to facilitate wto deliberations.
They are designed to provide the basis.
World trade organization wto green room meetings are small gatherings of representatives from up to 30 member countries invited by the director general.