Quick work needed to save world trade deal: Lamy
Sunday, 24 August 2008
WASHINGTON, (Internet): World trade negotiators need to bounce back quickly from a failed meeting in July to have any chance of reaching a deal by the end of the year, the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said.
"The good news is that they want to re-engage," WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said in an interview, referring to India and the United States, whose differences on agriculture led to the collapse of world trade talks last month in Geneva.
Lamy spoke to media after meeting Friday with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and several US industry groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Earlier this month, he travelled to New Delhi to explore India's interest in restarting negotiations.
The nearly seven-year-old Doha round suffered a major setback in July when trade ministers from around 30 key WTO countries and the European Union failed again to agree on terms for cutting farm subsidies and tariffs and opening markets around the world to more manufactured goods trade.
The Geneva meeting foundered because of sharp differences between the United States and China and India over a "special safeguard mechanism" (SSM) to help developing countries protect their farmers from a surge in imports.
The United States complained that India in particular was demanding terms that would let developing countries hike tariffs above levels agreed in previous trade rounds in response to just normal growth in trade.
India said developing countries needed a mechanism that was quick and easy to use and it could not let the demands of rich-country farmers for more export opportunities jeopardise the livelihood of subsistence farmers.
Talks could restart early September. "It became a huge issue because of the politics on both sides ... I wouldn't say if we solve the SSM, the rest will fall in place. But what I'm pretty certain is if we don't solve this, the rest will not fall into place," Lamy said.
Schwab told reporters she urged Lamy to quickly convene a meeting of senior officials from key WTO members to try to resolve that and other outstanding issues, as well as lock in the substantial progress made in other areas last month.
That effort could begin in early September, Lamy said, noting that he still needed to consult with more WTO members before calling senior officials to work.
As a practical matter, the fast-approaching November 4 US presidential election is probably the deadline for reaching an agreement this year, Lamy said.
"I think that's the view" of the Bush administration, Lamy said. "It's also the view by others that the more time passes, the more the ability of an administration to contract" a deal diminishes, he said.
Some WTO members suspect the real reason talks collapsed last month was because the United States did not want to deal with developing country demands for deeper and faster cuts in US cotton subsidies than for other commodities.
"I know there are a lots of conspiracy theories running on this ... To be frank, I don't suspect the US broke on the SSM not to have cotton on the table. They know cotton has to be there" as part of the deal, Lamy said.
He also argued the overall agricultural package was big enough to satisfy US demands that other countries pay for cuts in US trade-distorting farm subsidies by opening their markets to more imported farm goods.
The deal also allows the United States, like other countries, to shelter its most sensitive agricultural commodities from deep tariff cuts, he said.
"The good news is that they want to re-engage," WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said in an interview, referring to India and the United States, whose differences on agriculture led to the collapse of world trade talks last month in Geneva.
Lamy spoke to media after meeting Friday with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab and several US industry groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Earlier this month, he travelled to New Delhi to explore India's interest in restarting negotiations.
The nearly seven-year-old Doha round suffered a major setback in July when trade ministers from around 30 key WTO countries and the European Union failed again to agree on terms for cutting farm subsidies and tariffs and opening markets around the world to more manufactured goods trade.
The Geneva meeting foundered because of sharp differences between the United States and China and India over a "special safeguard mechanism" (SSM) to help developing countries protect their farmers from a surge in imports.
The United States complained that India in particular was demanding terms that would let developing countries hike tariffs above levels agreed in previous trade rounds in response to just normal growth in trade.
India said developing countries needed a mechanism that was quick and easy to use and it could not let the demands of rich-country farmers for more export opportunities jeopardise the livelihood of subsistence farmers.
Talks could restart early September. "It became a huge issue because of the politics on both sides ... I wouldn't say if we solve the SSM, the rest will fall in place. But what I'm pretty certain is if we don't solve this, the rest will not fall into place," Lamy said.
Schwab told reporters she urged Lamy to quickly convene a meeting of senior officials from key WTO members to try to resolve that and other outstanding issues, as well as lock in the substantial progress made in other areas last month.
That effort could begin in early September, Lamy said, noting that he still needed to consult with more WTO members before calling senior officials to work.
As a practical matter, the fast-approaching November 4 US presidential election is probably the deadline for reaching an agreement this year, Lamy said.
"I think that's the view" of the Bush administration, Lamy said. "It's also the view by others that the more time passes, the more the ability of an administration to contract" a deal diminishes, he said.
Some WTO members suspect the real reason talks collapsed last month was because the United States did not want to deal with developing country demands for deeper and faster cuts in US cotton subsidies than for other commodities.
"I know there are a lots of conspiracy theories running on this ... To be frank, I don't suspect the US broke on the SSM not to have cotton on the table. They know cotton has to be there" as part of the deal, Lamy said.
He also argued the overall agricultural package was big enough to satisfy US demands that other countries pay for cuts in US trade-distorting farm subsidies by opening their markets to more imported farm goods.
The deal also allows the United States, like other countries, to shelter its most sensitive agricultural commodities from deep tariff cuts, he said.