US accuses Doha dissidents
Saturday, 8 September 2007
Eoin Callan, FT Syndication Service
WASHINGTON: The US has accused South Africa, Argentina, India and Brazil of jeopardising the Doha round of world trade talks by thwarting fresh efforts to reach a deal on cuts to agricultural and industrial tariffs.
Susan Schwab, US trade representative, said a small group of countries had the power to "destroy the Doha round" and cited the four nations as obstacles to progress.
The US is keen to advance quickly with negotiations on the basis of draft agreements advanced by the World Trade Organisation to open markets to farm and manufactured goods. But some WTO members argue that the proposed cuts that poorer nations are asked to make in industrial tariffs are far bigger than the concessions being asked of richer countries on agricultural products, thus undermining the aim of the Doha round to focus on farming as the issue of most concern to developing countries.
President George W. Bush has made reviving the talks his economic priority at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Sydney, which brings together 21 countries that collectively generate half of global trade.
In a speech in Sydney on Friday, he added his criticism of countries blocking progress. "No single country can make Doha a success, but it is possible for a handful of countries that are unwilling to make the necessary contributions to bring Doha to a halt," he said. "We must focus on what we have to gain, not what we could to lose."
He said the US was committed to seizing the "once-in-a-generation chance" provided by the Doha round to "open markets and help millions rise from poverty".
Ministers at the summit of Pacific Rim nations agreed on Thursday to accelerate the trade talks, which resumed this week in Geneva.
The Japanese trade minister said the negotiations were entering their final phase and called for convergence, after hearing appeals from Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO.
The US hopes the expression of support for the talks from Apec members - including China, South Korea and Indonesia - will help isolate those advanced developing countries resisting an agreement.
This week Peter Mandelson, European Union trade commissioner, said all countries had to make compromisesbut emphasised the need for the US to offer deeper cuts in farm subsidies. "We are in a stalemate on this and I believe that the US holds the key to unlocking it," he told the BBC.
Christine Lagarde, French economic minister, last week said she did not expect a global trade deal in the foreseeable future because the divisions among WTO members remained "too wide".
The draft agreements were issued by the WTO after bilateral negotiations between the US and the EU produced a breakthrough on farm goods, but then failed to bring about a wider deal this summer when talks were extended to include India and Brazil.
Crawford Falconer, New Zealand's ambassador to the WTO, who chairs the agriculture negotiations, has proposed a deal under which the US would reduce farm subsidies to close to $13bn a year and the EU would cut its highest agricultural tariffs by 73 per cent.
WASHINGTON: The US has accused South Africa, Argentina, India and Brazil of jeopardising the Doha round of world trade talks by thwarting fresh efforts to reach a deal on cuts to agricultural and industrial tariffs.
Susan Schwab, US trade representative, said a small group of countries had the power to "destroy the Doha round" and cited the four nations as obstacles to progress.
The US is keen to advance quickly with negotiations on the basis of draft agreements advanced by the World Trade Organisation to open markets to farm and manufactured goods. But some WTO members argue that the proposed cuts that poorer nations are asked to make in industrial tariffs are far bigger than the concessions being asked of richer countries on agricultural products, thus undermining the aim of the Doha round to focus on farming as the issue of most concern to developing countries.
President George W. Bush has made reviving the talks his economic priority at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Sydney, which brings together 21 countries that collectively generate half of global trade.
In a speech in Sydney on Friday, he added his criticism of countries blocking progress. "No single country can make Doha a success, but it is possible for a handful of countries that are unwilling to make the necessary contributions to bring Doha to a halt," he said. "We must focus on what we have to gain, not what we could to lose."
He said the US was committed to seizing the "once-in-a-generation chance" provided by the Doha round to "open markets and help millions rise from poverty".
Ministers at the summit of Pacific Rim nations agreed on Thursday to accelerate the trade talks, which resumed this week in Geneva.
The Japanese trade minister said the negotiations were entering their final phase and called for convergence, after hearing appeals from Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO.
The US hopes the expression of support for the talks from Apec members - including China, South Korea and Indonesia - will help isolate those advanced developing countries resisting an agreement.
This week Peter Mandelson, European Union trade commissioner, said all countries had to make compromisesbut emphasised the need for the US to offer deeper cuts in farm subsidies. "We are in a stalemate on this and I believe that the US holds the key to unlocking it," he told the BBC.
Christine Lagarde, French economic minister, last week said she did not expect a global trade deal in the foreseeable future because the divisions among WTO members remained "too wide".
The draft agreements were issued by the WTO after bilateral negotiations between the US and the EU produced a breakthrough on farm goods, but then failed to bring about a wider deal this summer when talks were extended to include India and Brazil.
Crawford Falconer, New Zealand's ambassador to the WTO, who chairs the agriculture negotiations, has proposed a deal under which the US would reduce farm subsidies to close to $13bn a year and the EU would cut its highest agricultural tariffs by 73 per cent.