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July 30, 2008
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Wednesday
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Rajab 26, 1429
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WTO talks collapse after farm row
GENEVA, July 29: Global trade talks collapsed on Tuesday after a clash over agriculture between the United States and emerging powers, including China, India and Indonesia.
The breakdown came on the ninth day of marathon talks. The United States and India failed to find a compromise on measures intended to help poor countries protect their farmers against import surges, a diplomat said.
“We were so close to getting this done,” US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters at World Trade Organisation headquarters in Geneva. Global negotiators have worked on the Doha trade round for seven years.
“The US remains committed to the Doha round. This is not a time to talk about a round collapsing,” said Schwab, who looked frustrated. “The US commitments remain on the table, awaiting reciprocal responses.”
The collapse also prompted disappointment in other countries that had stood to gain from another round of trade opening.
“It’s really bad news. It’s sad to have lost so many years of work. For an emerging market, it is worrying to see a WTO that is not strong,” said Soraya Rosar, director of international negotiations with Brazil’s National Industry Confederation.
Failure to find agreement on the core agriculture and industrial goods chapters of the Doha trade round could delay any final accord on trade liberalisation for several more years.
Washington had opposed a push from India, China and Indonesia to secure measures to protect their farmers if faced with sudden surges of cheap farm imports.
Developing exporter countries like Uruguay and Costa Rica also rejected the proposal, fearing it would shut them out of growth markets for food in other developing nations.
The impasse derailed substantial progress that had been made on other agricultural, manufacturing and services trade issues.
As failure looked likely, New Zealand’s trade minister, Phil Goff, said: “I hope ... that what we’ve achieved this week can be used at least to build on as a foundation for the future.”—Reuters
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