World trade talks hit further stumbling blocks
Trade delegations were in the dark ahead of today’s scheduled US Congress vote on whether to extend a huge subsidy deal for American farmers for four years, to 2011. If US lawmakers vote to extend subsidies, huge doubts will be raised over the Bush administration’s ability to win political support for proposed subsidy cuts in a WTO agreement.
Last week, WTO negotiations on agriculture hit yet another snag, when developing countries demanded that issues of central importance to them be addressed.
The group of 33 developing countries questioned the transparency and inclusiveness of negotiations, an obvious reference to negotiations so far being carried out among a limited group of five - Australia, Brazil, the EU, India and the US.
G33 representative Gusmardi Bustami said: “We strongly believe that inputs for the text to be presented to Ministers should come from an open and multilateral consultation.”
He also said it would be hard to agree a deal if “Special Products” and “Special Safeguards Measures” were not given the same weight as other agricultural market access issues. Also last week, Australian and New Zealand representatives warned that the so-called Doha Round of trade talks among the 148 World Trade Organisation members was on the brink of collapse, and French agriculture minister Dominique Bussereau repeated claims that EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson had exceeded his mandate with his latest WTO proposal.
“With regard to agriculture, the proposition that we have before us is not compatible with the mandate, and technical analysis we are carrying out at this moment with our EU partners will show it,” he said.
“Respect of common agricultural policy constitutes an absolute red line. If this line were to be crossed, France would veto a possible overall agreement.”
