Wheels Stuck in Hong Kong
Food aid, cotton distract trade ministers from real progress at Hong Kong ministerial meeting.
Compiled by staff
Published: Dec 15, 2005
It's been two days of posturing about who is to blame in the stalled World Trade Organization talks in Hong Kong this week. And instead of progress on market access by the European Union, focus on side issues is keeping trade ministers from converging on key concepts.
Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Saxby Chamblis, R-Ga., voiced frustration with the side issues of the U.S. cotton program, duty-free quota free proposals and food aid packages.
Grassley says the United States is ready to deal within a comprehensive agreement with all of these issues and more. "This is a lot more than I can say about some of our trading partners who don't seem interested in market liberalization at all," he says. "Instead they insist on perpetuating side-shows, drawing unconditional and unrealistic lines in the sand, or simply sitting out negotiations all together. It's time for our trading partners to get serious, step up to the plate, and show some leadership. Otherwise, the Doha round will
remain stalled."
The European Union criticizes the United States for dumping its excess crops as food aid on the world market. In his opening speech to the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman announced that the United States plans to more than double its contributions to global Aid for Trade, from $1.3 billion in 2005 to $2.7 billion in grants annually by 2010.
USTR put together a Fact Sheet explaining the benefits food aid brings to the world. The United Nations sides with the United States of the importance of food aid to adequately address the growing hunger needs.
Experience clearly shows that switching from in-kind food aid to cash results in a net decline in food assistance. Both the OECD and the WFP indicate that overall EU food aid in cash and in kind declined after the Commission and member states moved to "cash only" food aid in 1996. According to the OECD, the EU and its member states normally provided 2 to 5 million tons of cereal food aid between 1970 and 1996. EU food aid rarely exceeded 2 million tons after 1996, and in 2002, EU food aid was approximately 1 million tons.
Chambliss says, "We must eliminate export subsidies and have substantial and meaningful reductions in tariffs for both developing and developed countries alike."
India's minister of commerce and industry adds that unless momentum builds, it will be impossible to agree on concepts, which later can lead to agreements on specific numbers--such as how much to cut tariffs and subsidies.
Four days of negotiating still remain before the ministerial meeting ends Dec. 18th.
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Tagged: cotton, hunger, United Nations
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