China to help push forward Doha round talks

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BEIJING, June 19 (Agencies): China will continue to help push forward the Doha round trade talks and work to safeguard the multilateral trade system, Minister of Finance Jin Renqing said here yesterday.
In talks with visiting World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy, Jin said that China will make further contributions to the Doha round talks, and that the country has honoured commitments made before it joined the WTO in 2001 by slashing tariffs and further opening its markets.
China's tariff duties on non-farm produce have dropped to 8.9 per cent in 2007 from 42 per cent in 1992 and those on farm produce have been cut to 15.3 per cent this year from 54 per cent in 2001, according to the ministry of finance. Globally, tariffs on agricultural products currently average 62 per cent.
The WTO chief said the Doha talks are deadlocked on questions of agricultural subsidies, and tariff cuts on agricultural and non-agricultural products.
The Doha round was launched in 2001 with the aim of boosting global economy and helping poor countries by instituting fairer trade conditions. But it has missed several deadlines mainly due to sharp differences on agricultural subsidies and tariffs.
Lamy hoped that China would introduce more flexible policies on its sensitive farm produce imports and play a more important role in pushing forward the trade talks.
He also expressed concerns about China's market access rules for some sensitive non-agricultural products and urged more cooperation in the Doha talks among China, the United States and the European Union.
Minister Jin said the pressure on China in the agricultural trade talks should be eased since the country, with nearly 900 million rural people, has made hefty cuts to import tariffs on farm produce and has a long-standing trade deficit in farm produce.
The developed countries should play a leading role in the Doha trade talks, and China will work with other developing countries to bolster support for the multilateral talks, said Jin.
The minister also said the specific concerns of recently acceded members (RAMs) should be effectively addressed in the trade talks.
Meanwhile, European Trade Minister Peter Mandelson urged the 27 EU nations yesterday to show flexibility at an upcoming meeting with major negotiating partners or risk the collapse of WTO talks.
Addressing EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels, Mandelson said there were three possible outcomes of the G4 talks in Potsdam, Germany - - between the EU, the US, Brazil and India -- including total failure, a diplomat said.
"If each partner negotiates to the limits of their flexibility," then the talks, which open Tuesday, will be a success, Mandelson told the EU ministers.
Alternatively there could be the sort of "incremental progress" which falls short of an agreement, in which case a further G4 meeting could be held in July.
In the worst-case scenario, with no common ground found, WTO chief Pascal Lamy "will be in a position to take the initiative and put more pressure on the EU concerning agriculture," Mandelson was quoted as saying.
British, Dutch and Swedish ministers stressed their support for the EU commission's line, while France and Ireland-nations with big agricultural sectors-expressed their reserves at the idea of offering too much flexibility.