Ministerial Meeting is Lacking Major Progress
Harkin says WTO action not likely until next year.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 25, 2008
World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy says a breakthrough remains elusive at the WTO meeting in Geneva. In agriculture the focus remained on six key issues including overall trade distorting domestic support, cotton and tariff cuts. On some of the issues Lamy said positions were still too far apart, but there continued to be a shared desire to bridge the remaining differences. According to Lamy - the prize is in sight - and ministers must not fail to claim it. The services signaling conference will now take place Saturday. That's two days later than originally scheduled. Also likely to be delayed is the formal Trade Negotiations Committee meeting, which was due to wrap up the Geneva talks on Saturday.
On Thursday Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said even in the event trade negotiators in Geneva come up with an agreement this week, the U.S. Congress would be unlikely to work on it before the new Administration takes office next January. Harkin acknowledged "it would be unfortunate" if the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations fails. He again pressed for a "balanced" agreement that would lower trade barriers and open markets for U.S. exports if the U.S. is to lower farm subsidies. Harkin pointed out that a WTO agreement would give world trading partners "stable and forceful rules we can all rely upon."
Harkin's press call came in the wake of an offer this week by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab to cap U.S. farm subsidies at $15 billion. Harkin, who has worked to switch subsidies to conservation payments, pointed out that offer was an affirmation that future U.S. farm payments should come from non-trade distorting activities. He expressed concern the new U.S. offer could affect the new ACRE program, a safety net option for farmers in the new farm bill. While taking a tough stance on market access, Harkin said a World Trade Organization deal might have a better chance of passage in Congress, because of the multilateral — and multi-sector - market opportunities, than the bilateral free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and Korea.
Source: Feedstuffs
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: farm, farm bill, cotton
|