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Multilateral trade talks collapse
by John Gregerson on 7/25/2006 for Meatingplace.com
World trade talks in Geneva collapsed on Monday after members of the Group of Six failed to overcome differences blocking a global free-trade pact.
Trade negotiators from the United States, European Union, Japan, Brazil, India and Australia remained deadlocked after meeting for 14 hours over the weekend, prompting World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy to suspend talks in the so-called Doha round, so named for Doha, Qatar, where negotiations began in 2001.
Lamy set a further two days of talks for this Friday and Saturday, but diplomats said that without any movement last weekend, there was little point in an additional session.
"It is a big failure," EU Agriculture Minister Mariann Fischer Boel told reporters, "and whether it is going to be definitive only time will tell."
"This is a serious failure," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab agreed. "The question is, how do we regroup?"
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns blamed Brazil and India for being inflexible on their refusal to cut barriers to industrial imports and the EU for refusing to open up its farm markets by lowering its tariffs on agricultural imports.
However, EU Trade Chief Peter Mandelson countered that the United States was "unwilling to accept or acknowledge the flexibilities being shown by others, and as a result felt unable to show any flexibility on the issue of [reducing] its farm subsidies."
According to European and Indian negotiators, the EU late on Sunday indicated it was willing to move slightly to reduce tariffs. But the U.S. delegation said the offer wasn't specific enough, and declined to modify an existing proposal to reduce agricultural subsidies.
Johanns said proposed measures from other countries "appeared to be getting lighter and lighter in the last few weeks."
Before last weekend's talks, U.S. legislators and agriculture lobbyists warned Schwab not to accept a "Doha lite."
Negotiators had indicated progress was needed to forge a detailed agreement by the end of the year, when President Bush's fast-tracking authority expires.
"This is a serious setback, a major setback," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
Multilateral trade talks collapse
by John Gregerson on 7/25/2006 for Meatingplace.com
World trade talks in Geneva collapsed on Monday after members of the Group of Six failed to overcome differences blocking a global free-trade pact.
Trade negotiators from the United States, European Union, Japan, Brazil, India and Australia remained deadlocked after meeting for 14 hours over the weekend, prompting World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy to suspend talks in the so-called Doha round, so named for Doha, Qatar, where negotiations began in 2001.
Lamy set a further two days of talks for this Friday and Saturday, but diplomats said that without any movement last weekend, there was little point in an additional session.
"It is a big failure," EU Agriculture Minister Mariann Fischer Boel told reporters, "and whether it is going to be definitive only time will tell."
"This is a serious failure," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab agreed. "The question is, how do we regroup?"
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns blamed Brazil and India for being inflexible on their refusal to cut barriers to industrial imports and the EU for refusing to open up its farm markets by lowering its tariffs on agricultural imports.
However, EU Trade Chief Peter Mandelson countered that the United States was "unwilling to accept or acknowledge the flexibilities being shown by others, and as a result felt unable to show any flexibility on the issue of [reducing] its farm subsidies."
According to European and Indian negotiators, the EU late on Sunday indicated it was willing to move slightly to reduce tariffs. But the U.S. delegation said the offer wasn't specific enough, and declined to modify an existing proposal to reduce agricultural subsidies.
Johanns said proposed measures from other countries "appeared to be getting lighter and lighter in the last few weeks."
Before last weekend's talks, U.S. legislators and agriculture lobbyists warned Schwab not to accept a "Doha lite."
Negotiators had indicated progress was needed to forge a detailed agreement by the end of the year, when President Bush's fast-tracking authority expires.
"This is a serious setback, a major setback," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
