GENEVA, 30 June 2006 — World Trade Organization nations launched a war of words yesterday, issuing doom-laden warnings and urging each other to compromise as they sought to revive their struggling Doha Round talks on tearing down barriers to global commerce.
Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath threatened to walk away if Washington refused to offer deeper cuts in subsidies paid to US farmers. “I’ll ring up my travel agent and get a flight home,” Nath told journalists when asked how he would react if US negotiators did not budge during what are expected to be round-the-clock talks lasting until Sunday or Monday.
Earlier this week, WTO chief Pascal Lamy warned that the 149-nation organization could no longer afford to duck a deal, after missing a host of deadlines during almost five years of stumbling negotiations.
Lamy said that postponing a decision would be a “recipe for failure,” jeopardizing efforts to conclude the Doha Round, which aims to slash barriers to commerce and provide a boost for developing countries.
The round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001, was originally meant to finish in 2004. Members subsequently set a December 2006 end-date.
Over coming days, trade ministers from around 60 key WTO players are set to try reach an interim deal on the mathematics for cutting subsidies and tariffs, a crucial step toward a final accord.
Lamy refers regularly to the “triangle” needed to spur the talks. Besides US subsidy cuts and EU tariff reductions, key emerging nations such as Brazil and India should in turn make deeper cuts to barriers on industrial goods, he says. Last year, in what it billed as a bold move to kickstart the stalled talks, the United States offered to cut its farm support by 53 percent.
The powerful G-20 group of developing countries, which is steered by India and Brazil, instead demanded a 75-percent reduction. Anything less would lack bite and allow American agri-business to continue undercutting its competitors, it said.
The European Union, which has called for a 60-percent US cut, also stepped up the pressure yesterday. EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel challenged the United States to come forward. “We will be very cautious, because cosmetic offers are not enough,” Fischer Boel told journalists. “We need real offers, specifically on domestic support, from the US. Domestic support is crucial.”
The United States, which appears unwilling to make big concessions amid pressure from skeptical lawmakers and powerful farm lobbies, says its offer will bring real benefits to world trade.
US negotiators yesterday dismissed “misguided” criticism and said other players, particularly the EU, must “step up to the plate.”
