WTO clears air for Doha round ministerial
Saturday, 15 March 2008
GENEVA, March 14 (Reuters): Top trade talks nations agreed the mechanics of how to seal a deal in the long-running Doha round yesterday, a key advance if ministers are to meet next month to approve an outline deal, a senior trade official said.
Much work remains on negotiating the substantive issues, where some big divisions remain, but countries are now much clearer on what is required for a successful meeting of trade ministers in the coming weeks.
"It's clear that there's a convergence of views on how to move forward in some areas, and that agreement in agriculture and industrial goods is a prerequisite for progress elsewhere," said the official, who asked not be identified.
"A great deal of energy is now being devoted to resolving the core issues in the two critical areas," he told Reuters.
He was talking after WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy met ambassadors from the major players such as the United States, European Union, South Africa, India, Japan and Australia, and those representing various groups of developing nations.
Ministers hope to meet in the next few weeks to agree the basics of a deal to be concluded by the end of the year.
That would boost the troubled world economy -- to the tune of $120 billion a year according to one study by economists in Australia and Britain issued yesterday.
Finishing the deal this year would also avoid the negotiations, launched in the Qatari capital Doha in 2001, being sidetracked by the arrival of a new U.S. administration in 2009, or even being reopened by the new team in the White House.
Agriculture is the key to the talks because of its significance to developing countries, and industry is important because it accounts for the bulk of trade and is where rich countries hope to secure more market opening.
But many rich countries want to include other areas such as services or trade rules in the proposed ministerial talks, so that they can exploit the leverage they have from opening up their markets for agricultural goods.
For instance, one of the EU's main goals is to create a system of geographical indicators to "copyright" food from certain regions, such as Parma ham. Brussels can use the promise of market opening to persuade other countries to support it.
The talks in agriculture and industry are about cutting tariffs and subsidies -- political decisions that only the ministers can take.
But before it gets that far a couple of vitally important technical issues must be resolved, both revolving around the exceptions to generally agreed tariff cuts that countries can use to protect sensitive crops or industries.
In agriculture all countries -- but in practice mainly developed ones -- will have the right to shield some products from the full tariff cut in return for letting in a quota at a lower tariff, possibly even zero.
Much work remains on negotiating the substantive issues, where some big divisions remain, but countries are now much clearer on what is required for a successful meeting of trade ministers in the coming weeks.
"It's clear that there's a convergence of views on how to move forward in some areas, and that agreement in agriculture and industrial goods is a prerequisite for progress elsewhere," said the official, who asked not be identified.
"A great deal of energy is now being devoted to resolving the core issues in the two critical areas," he told Reuters.
He was talking after WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy met ambassadors from the major players such as the United States, European Union, South Africa, India, Japan and Australia, and those representing various groups of developing nations.
Ministers hope to meet in the next few weeks to agree the basics of a deal to be concluded by the end of the year.
That would boost the troubled world economy -- to the tune of $120 billion a year according to one study by economists in Australia and Britain issued yesterday.
Finishing the deal this year would also avoid the negotiations, launched in the Qatari capital Doha in 2001, being sidetracked by the arrival of a new U.S. administration in 2009, or even being reopened by the new team in the White House.
Agriculture is the key to the talks because of its significance to developing countries, and industry is important because it accounts for the bulk of trade and is where rich countries hope to secure more market opening.
But many rich countries want to include other areas such as services or trade rules in the proposed ministerial talks, so that they can exploit the leverage they have from opening up their markets for agricultural goods.
For instance, one of the EU's main goals is to create a system of geographical indicators to "copyright" food from certain regions, such as Parma ham. Brussels can use the promise of market opening to persuade other countries to support it.
The talks in agriculture and industry are about cutting tariffs and subsidies -- political decisions that only the ministers can take.
But before it gets that far a couple of vitally important technical issues must be resolved, both revolving around the exceptions to generally agreed tariff cuts that countries can use to protect sensitive crops or industries.
In agriculture all countries -- but in practice mainly developed ones -- will have the right to shield some products from the full tariff cut in return for letting in a quota at a lower tariff, possibly even zero.