Developing Countries Set Doha Talks Back
Group of G-33 reject restrictions on special products.
Compiled by staff
Published: May 12, 2006
Developing nations say they won't accept a World Trade Organization deal if negotiators agree to limit protections for special products such as rice and sugar and restrict use of the special safeguard mechanism.
The group, known as G33, wants at least 20% of their tariff line eligible for "special product" status and protected from complete market access reform. G-33 is upset by a reference paper issued by Crawford Falconer, the chair of the agriculture negotiations, on special products. Falconer says the G33 proposal would shield 98% of their farm trade. Economists say the benefit to poorer nations will come from fully opening those markets to increased trade.
"Let us be categorical," says Ambassador Gusmardi Bustami of Indonesia, on behalf of the G33. "The ambition envisaged in some highly extreme and ambitious proposals on market access would decimate the entire rural populations of the poor developing countries. Accordingly, you cannot expect the G33 to come down significantly from 20%, regardless of the (level of) ambition."
Earlier this week, the US issued a paper on special products that upset the G33 members as it proposed that only 5 tariff lines be allowed to be designated as special products. As many developing countries have close to or over a thousand agriculture tariff lines, this means that less than 1% and in many cases less than 0.5% of agriculture tariff lines can be selected as special products, a statement from the G33 says.
The US also wanted other restrictions on selection of SP (for example, that they be limited to products produced domestically, and that net exported products cannot be made SPs).
Moreover, the US proposal for treatment of SPs is restrictive, as all SPs will still have to undergo tariff reduction (though less than the general cut), and all SPs are subject to expanded access through tariff rate quotas, and there will be no in-quota duties for any tariff rate quotas. This means that market access at zero tariff will have to be offered for a specified minimum quantity of the special products.
The European Union wants to have a higher level of special product classifications. The United States agrees with limited SP classification, but higher levels of SP limit the market access a successful deal brings.
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: farm
|